Angelic Alchemist in Orario
by Hayashinkage17
Summary: Started with just her adventure spirit and curiosity, an Alchemist from another continent embarks on an adventure in Orario. Little did she know, Orario has a lot more secrets than she was told, and the danger lurking inside it is not even a part of it. And what's the deal with divine powers in the city? First Trial on DanMachi. OC-Insert
1. Prologue

**My first trial on Danmachi. This story will be rarely updated since I've got business and other stories to take care of.**

**Sadly speaking, I don't follow the Anime or the LN; my only source of this story is just Danmachi: Memoria Freese (EU) and all other fanfictions that I've been reading.**

**Anyhow, I always wanted to try an OC-Insert story for this fandom, just like the other fandoms that I used to 'join'.**

**This is actually a cross-over with Kamidori-Alchemy Meister, but the Kamidori part is just pretty much covering the backstory of the OC, and moreover, there is no Kamidori fandom here, it fell just to Misc. Games. And thus, I'll treat this as a non-crossover story.**

**Why Kamidori? I realized that it also revolves around Dungeons too so, it might seem like a good idea, though do not expect too much from me.**

**I might leave some questions at the end of the chapter. Please give an answer at the review section or by PM. I'll appreciate it!**

**Before I start the short prologue, though, since this is an OC-Insert story, it might be better if I put a little basic information regarding her, just to make sure everyone isn't kept in the dark.**

* * *

OC Information:

Name: Alvaretta Dion (アルヴァレッタ デイオン)

Nickname: Alva

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Race: Half-Archangel (Do not ask me how this is possible.)

Appearance: Long straight blonde-hair, brown eyes, glasses, slim build, 5'4"

Weapon in possession: Hammer, (hidden), (hidden), Chain armor, (hidden)

**Without further ado. Here's the prologue.**

* * *

**The Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Prologue- From Yuidora to Orario.**

* * *

-Alva's PoV—

Out of the city walls, down the dangerous path.

I would say, I do not predict that I will do this…with a different purpose.

The name's Alvaretta Dion. Most people call me Alva for simplification purposes. I am the daughter of an Alchemist (some call him Blacksmith) called Wilfred Dion, which is, coincidentally, the head of the Alchemist Guild in Yuidora, a city known for its alchemists, traders, and most importantly, its Dungeon. Heck, it is called the Alchemist City because of it.

My father is rather unique, not only he had achieved his position as the head of the guild (and therefore implying like the Lord of the city) through a very long journey, but his unique traits had given him such unusual happenings around him.

Due to his kind heart and supportive nature, many girls fell for him, and due to the lack of marriage laws in Yuidora and the surrounding countries, he had actually taken five wives for his own, with two of them even not being humans.

My mother is one of them.

Nobody except my family in Yuidora actually knew that I was born to a human man and an archangel, identifying me as a half-archangel myself. My mother always hides her true identity while inside the city, disguising herself somehow as just a normal human lady. Despite me having bluntly-pointed ears, the other alchemists treat me just as a half-elf instead, especially since the other nonhuman wife of my father is indeed a forest elf. But of course, the logic doesn't seem quite right.

Not that they have ever once thought about it. After all, their daily lives revolve just around alchemy, dungeon delving, weapon-making and trading, there's probably not enough room for genetic discussions.

Enough talking about my family background. Right now, I am walking outside the Alchemist City on a different purpose. Walking outside the city is just a piece of my daily life, since I was raised in a family of the Alchemist Guild Lord. I would constantly go out of the city and find some endemic materials from the surrounding area, or sometimes I delved into the city dungeon for some local dungeon materials, either by mining the ores, scavenging some dirts, or even looting some monsters.

"Grrr!"

Speak of the devil…

While on my way, I am stopped by a horde of forest monsters…like usual. I just sigh. These monsters never learn…

Well, what do you expect from (most) monsters anyway?

I quickly take my one-hand alchemist hammer and make some work on the monsters. I wouldn't call it a short work, but it doesn't seem quite hard either since I'm technically used to them: the monsters are pretty much easy to deal…

…which means I am not too far from Yuidora…

…and also implies that I am still miles away from my destination.

Wait, so what am I actually doing?

Well, it all began with a simple curiosity…

* * *

"_Dungeon city besides Yuidora?" My father was a bit dumbfounded by my random question. "Why do you want to know?"_

"_Nothing much, father." I answered. "It's just, it has been years since I learned to become an Alchemist, and it was as long as us adventuring through many places around Yuidora, going into the forests, ruins, dungeons, and many other places. I felt like I have reached and visited so many places to get materials too. And yet, I can't figure out the materials on some of our equipments."_

_My father just smiled. "This world is very huge, Alva. It would make sense if you didn't know about it."_

"_But we've made through Disnafrody*, Santaria* and even Marsterria*! That's already very wide!" I exclaimed._

_He didn't seem quite touched, though. He just offered his usual sneer._

"_It's even wider than that."_

"_Then, that means there really is another dungeon city outside what I had mentioned!" I remarked. _

"_Well, that's no doubt." My father said, before changing his mimic to a confused one. "Though, why are you asking all of this all of a sudden? Surely you're not trying to…" he paused._

"_Father?"_

"_You won't be trying to go there if I mention the place, will you?"_

_I just sneered at his remark. He surely is so cunning, as expected from the Alchemy Meister._

"_Hehe, you got me…"_

"_Sigh…what a handful little girl." My father just put his hand on his forehead._

"_I'm not a little girl. Besides, get yourself a mirror." I said playfully._

"_Well I'm not …"_

"_Wil? Alva? What happened? Why are you bickering?" Suddenly a figure entered the workshop where we're 'talking'. The figure was angelic, with long straight blonde hair and blue eyes, and a face that would enchant many other people. She was wearing blue battle armor that covers most of her arms, part of her body, but not her back, letting bright, pure-white angel wings waving on it. A battle helmet was on her head and a spear was on her hand, confirming her identity as an Apsael Archangel. She looks a lot like me except of our eyes and the fact that she's not using glasses._

"_No, we're not bickering, Melodiana. Alva's just asking something and I just answered it, nothing more." _

"_Hm…" the figure, turning out to be my mother, just closed her eyes for a while, then opened it again at my direction. "Why am I not convinced. What exactly do you ask, Alva?"_

_To be honest, my mother is the last person I want to hear this question from._

_I then told her about what I ask and, additionally, what I actually wanted to do._

_Yup, if there's one thing I found special yet also annoying at times about my mother, that is the inability of me to lie in front of her._

_She would eventually find out if I am lying or not, and that also applies for almost everyone._

_Well, that's an Angel for you. Even my father had said that she often tested his pure intentions upon meeting her during his younger days. _

_Meh, no fair._

_Never did I know, it was actually working on my side._

* * *

"_So, she just wanted to go on an adventure to another dungeon city?" My mother asked._

"_Not just any dungeon city." My father replied. "One outside the places we have gone previously."_

"_Then, what's the problem with that?"_

"_One problem, a big one, even." My father said. "The closest dungeon city outside the ones we have gone is even outside Dir Lifyna continent! That's very far!" _

"…" _Mom said nothing._

"_What's more, Orario is practically one of the cities with the most dangerous dungeon possible. A lot of rumors were coming from the traders about that dungeon city…"_

"_That just makes me wanted to go there more!" I suddenly said. "Orario, eh?"_

"_Ugh…seriously? What to do with you?"_

"_Isn't it the same case as you?" Melodiana suddenly chimed in. "I mean, you went as far as crossing the Disnafrody border, ascending to the castle in the sky, and even going as far as passing the Sin Gate and confronting Majin (Devil) Asmodeus just for finding new materials?"_

"_Uhhh…" My father became silent._

'_She had just hit him bulls-eye.' I thought._

"_I mean, it won't be that bad if it's your daughter. After all she had been following your example."_

"_But seriously, as her mother, aren't you worried?" He asked. "She is going to go on an adventure to a dangerous city far from here. I mean, it's your only daughter, even!"_

"_I am worried, of course, but it's also because she's only my daughter that I had put my trust in her." My mother continued. _

"_That's right. I am not even a child anymore! And I strived to follow your example. So surely it's not such a big deal."_

_My father seemed like he's still against it. But with such determination and the unexpected support coming from my mother, I guess he had already given up._

"_Sigh, it's just of no use…" My father then proceeded to go outside the workshop. "You wait here, Alva. Melodiana, please come with me."_

* * *

-Later-

"_What is this, father?" I asked as I was given something that resembles a letter._

"_I've decided, you may go to Orario like you have demanded. But allow me to explain something very important."_

_He began to describe what he had known about Orario, at least what he had heard from the traders in the city. Apparently Orario is a Labyrinth City with a very vast dungeon below it, instead of a dungeon city. It was said that the town is very special: not only with the fact that various races live there, but also the fact that Gods and Goddesses decide to descend to the city (or the mortal world they call it) and mingled with the mortals. They established what they call Familia (which I thought might have a little connection to "Family") and 'recruited' mortals to join them._

_Of course, being a worrywart, my father would always slip warnings inside his explanation. Not that I didn't like it though._

"_That letter is practically something equal to recommendation letter, to ensure that you had someone to rely on when you have problems. While it was true that your mother may watch you from the Angels' Sanctuary, that didn't imply that she would always descend to help you every time."_

"_That's true." My mother added. "Especially since Cliffside Church* has been having a lot of visitors lately, I still have my duty on that place too."_

"_I see." I replied. "But you haven't answered my question."_

"_Yeah, I know. I'll answer it now." My father sweatdropped. "When you arrived in Orario, I would recommend you to join the Hephaestus Familia, since according to the rumors I got, the familia is known as the familia of Blacksmiths. But this is not an order, as you have said to me, you are not a child, so I expect your maturity when it comes to decision making by yourself. In that case, you can forget about this letter." He said. "Do you understand?"_

"_Yes, I do!"_

"_Well then, I'm sure you're already eager for your adventure. Come with me to the Guild Manor. I'll perform a blessing ritual for your safe journey."_

_And just with that, my journey had begun._

* * *

While reminiscing all what had happened, I continue my own journey towards this Labyrinth City. Minutes, hours, or even days couldn't actually describe how long the journey actually takes. We're talking about cross-continent journey here.

But, I have already made my choice, and there's no turning back now. My parents have trusted me, and my mother is watching me from the skies. My half-brothers and sisters have also cheered me on. There's no way I'm going to upset them.

Weeks passed, or is it a month? After crossing forests, plains, and the oceans, I finally find myself outside the border of a very large city. It isn't clearly stated, but looking at how big it is, and the trademarks of the city that's visible even from the outside of the border, I have known one thing.

I have arrived in Orario.

Walking through the gate (of course after a little customary with the guards in front of the city, I even found myself lucky that I can actually exchange my Santoeril* for some Valis…), I notice that it was already pretty late since there was not many people out on the streets. I only notice a few shopkeepers folding their stalls, some drunk people walking about, and some people running in a hurry. One of them is a young boy with white hair and red eyes. He runs past me as if he's in a hurry, his face is somehow resembling angriness, though.

Well, that's probably nothing out of the ordinary, I guess?

I just proceeded to ask around for information about the city, about where the dungeon is, and where Hephaestus's familia is. But more importantly, where places to get food and stay for the night are.

After all, my adventure begins right here, right now.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, that's with the prologue. I probably should've omitted the "short" part since it's pretty long for my standard. Anyway, I know it was pretty much boring for a start, i.e. she had got Valis from the start, that makes her not penniless and thus there's no essence of "the first time in the city having no money" hilarity. And I felt like I rushed the prologue, don't you think? Please let me know about how do you feel about the prologue.**

**While this story centers around my OC, Bell and the others will have major impacts on the story as well. After all this is DanMachi fandom.**

**I had written a question at the first paragraph of the A/N above. And here's another one: **

**How does Level work in DanMachi actually? I heard some people say that every adventurer that has just given a blessing started always at Level 1, while others said that the Level just adjusts itself with the current stats of the adventurer even before the blessing is given.**

**Lastly, please give me some feedbacks too. Yeah I know that I haven't included the Danmachi part too much yet. But at least, I wanted to know if I should continue this story or not.**

**Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**

* * *

Legend:

*Yuidora, Disnafrody, Santaria, Marsterria: Cities in Dir Lifyna Continent (the setting of Kamidori)

*Cliffside Church: The church located just a day-trip far from Yuidora. Angels are said to live there, Alva's mother is one of them.

*Santoeril: Currency in Yuidora.


	2. What a Welcome

**A/N: I would like to thank you for the Favs and Follows, and also thank you for Guest and YAMETEEEEE for giving me answers to my question. Yup, by the time I saw your reviews, I quickly went up searching the wiki and that helped a lot! Thank you, both of you.**

**Here's the first chapter. I know it might seem a bit bland and rushed, but I'll try my best.**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 1-What a Welcome...**

* * *

-Alva's PoV-

After collecting enough basic information for the day, I decided to walk towards a certain bar that has the label "Hostess of Fertility". They said that the bar is the most popular bar around the city, even it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was synonymous with the word "Bar" itself. So, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try them, I believe?

And thus, asking around for direction (not many sources of answers since it's pretty late.), I just followed the path and apparently ended up outside a bright, hearty place. The sign post in front of the place is written "Hostess of Fertility" on it. It was written in hieroglyphics, but it's nothing I can't handle.

After all, Yuidora, being an Alchemist City with Dungeons and Ruins by itself, also used the same written language. Now I really felt lucky being born and bred in Yuidora.

Before going in, I tried to listen what is happening inside the place: I could hear the sound of glass tossing (cheers-Red), lots of laughs and murmurs, some loud shouts and…well…typically what you can usually find in the bar. But the high frequency of sounds had marked enough that this bar is indeed popular.

Well then…

I decided to go inside the bar.

"_Irasshaimase!_" I was greeted by a girl in green dress and white apron. She had dark grayish short hair and a short ponytail at the back, although seemingly unnoticed by most people, I think, and grey, almost black, eyes. From the look of it, she seemed like a human.

Not that I am being racist, but looking at the people when I entered the city, which consisted from many races, sometimes I would have to consider, just to avoid many confusions and provocations.

Just as I expected too, not only the people on the streets, but also the waitresses working here and the patrons were consisted of such various races. From afar I could see humans, elves, certain people with cat ears and tail (I wonder if those were really cat people or human in cat costumes, but they looked so real), and many others.

"Table for one?" The waitress asked, waking me up from the sudden trance full of thoughts.

"Y-Yes…"

"Alright then. Ryuu, a table for one, please?" the waitress 'exclaimed' softly, her tone was plausibly around the 'playful' type instead of a typical seriousness.

My eyes then darted onto the far side of the bar, the direction where this waitress was looking at, and spotted another waitress (which is obvious since they wore the same uniform) searching the area. Just a few seconds after that, she turned towards us and gave a signal, implying that she had indeed found an empty table.

"There, you can follow my friend to your table." The waitress said to me.

And just like she had stated, I followed her friend towards the table. This friend was practically a bit different. I realized, judging from her appearance, that she is most probably an elf, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. That reminded me of my father's elven wife, only she has long hair instead of short.

I arrived at the table, it was not very secluded and yet not at the middle too. I was placed in a table near a group of people of many races, I guess they probably were partying since they're being quite noisy. The elven waitress then handed me the menu and reminded me to call any of the waitress when I'm ready to order up.

Opening the menu, I tried to restrain myself not to be shocked by what's written inside it.

N-No, not because the food was weird or I couldn't read the menu. I could read it just fine, thank you very much, and I knew most of the food, because they were, to put it simply, are edible in common sense, if you got what I mean. Noodles, rice bowls, soup, steak, well, they were typically what you could find in a bar or a restaurant.

The problem comes with the price of the food. Since I have changed my Santoeril into Valis, I can actually make a price conversion and comparison of the food, from Valis to Santoeril and vice-versa. As I had said previously, it could be a problem because the prices were, well, out of my expectation.

They ranged at nearly thousands of Valis, that's practically around three times more expensive than Yuidora's Bar, and even I thought that Yuidora's Bar's prices are pretty much relatively expensive, and thus it had actually blown myself away.

'Are the price really this high in Orario?' I thought for a moment.

Things aside, I really think I should order quickly before I got kicked out for wasting my time for too long here without ordering anything.

It could be me just being paranoid, but seriously, I felt bad for that kind of thing.

Checking my "purse", (I did put the "…" there because I did not put money in those kinds of bags, instead I just slipped it on my pockets or sort.), and again rechecking the price of the food offered, I made my mind and called one of the waitresses, this time it's a brown-haired girl with cat ears and tail.

"What would you like to order-_nyaa_?" The waitress asked me with a typical cat-like dialect. It sounded weird but somehow it felt, natural, like it was not forced or something. Thus, either she really was a cat person, or she had experienced and trained for that kind of acting, which I thought was too good to be true.

"A bowl of curry rice and a glass of orange juice, please." I ordered, a programmed smile was on my face, just to ease any tension.

"Wow, no alcohol-_nyaa_?"

"I'm still a minor, miss." I replied softly.

"I see, coming right up-_nyaa_!" The cat waitress then went towards the kitchen area, while I was sitting, observing my surroundings, trying to blend in and to know how was life in Orario.

Though, I didn't even realize that my presence there attracted a few figures.

* * *

**-Loki Familia's Table-**

**-Riveria's PoV-**

*sigh* What a party breaker.

Okay, I knew Bete is drunk, but to say all that mockery and underestimation was something that's unaccounted for.

I wouldn't pry too much of him calling me an old hag, it's pretty much usual in our Familia, his orneriness is one thing associated to him thus I understood about all he had done. Though, that didn't mean I liked it, of course.

But I wish he had actually been taught on how to see things from our point of view. I really meant what I have said. It was really our fault that we let the Minotaur attacked that new adventurer. He should have known this by now.

Well, except, he's drunk.

That alone had just let my mood become sour.

And then, the bell of the front door rang, and a girl, wearing some tattered clothes and a worn leather-jacket, a not so big but loaded sack on her back, entered the bar.

'A newcomer?' I thought. It was pretty common for new adventurers to try eating at this bar, since this bar is pretty much well-known. But with that tattered clothes and the loaded sack, it might be much more appropriate to say that she had just arrived here in the city.

Though, it was not the clothes or the appearance that suddenly caught my attention. Being a high-level adventurer and from my congenital ability, I could sense a person's aura, and also measured their strength: the amount and/or the type of it. Take Lefiya, for example. Her aura is almost like me since we're both elves, the difference came with me being a High-Elf while she isn't. She has a generous level of elemental magic power, and that's pretty much of a level of a prodigy, meaning she could exploit it and become a surprisingly strong mage herself.

Okay, back to the topic, and maybe I should correct my statement. There was one thing of her appearance that actually caught my attention. Despite looking a lot like human, her eyes are bluntly-pointed, just like Eina from the Guild. If that's the lone indicator, then I could recognize her as being a half-elf too.

Unfortunately, there's another quirk that actually stood out from her. Her power is pretty much average, if I have to say, but the aura that comes with it is something foreign, or rather, unexpected.

This aura is familiar, very familiar, even. The problem is, while it was very faint, this kind of aura couldn't be found on most adventurers. I had found this kind in Loki, however…

That raised a question in my head. Why does this girl have a faint aura of a Goddess?

"Riveria, something wrong? You look a bit weirded yourself." A sound suddenly woke me up from the thoughts. "C'mon, everyone has finished their glasses, while you still got one half-full."

"I'm not a drinker, Loki. And not to worry, I will drink the rest later." I said. "Though, if you're sober enough, can I ask something."

"I am sober, don't worry. Ask away!" Judging from her face, however, her face was in no-brainer red, obviously she had taken enough booze by herself. That made me hesitant to even ask.

But, I can gamble on it, right?

"Loki, about the girl that's sitting next to our table…" I said. Loki tried to turn her gaze towards the girl but I prevented her to, just to make sure we didn't look suspicious to her.

"Why about her?"

"Did you sense it?"

"Hm?" Loki was a bit confused and took a glimpse on the girl. When she was looking away, Loki decided to look at her thoroughly. And just as I had predicted, she was surprised.

"See what I mean?"

"Yeah, I understand. If you're talking about her aura, she had a faint aura of Divinity on her, but it's almost untraceable."

"So, does that mean she is a Goddess?" I asked.

"Unfortunately not." Loki said. "Despite having a slither of Divinity, this girl's aura was far less divine than me or other Gods or Goddesses. I think we could even be safe to say that she's not a Goddess, at least."

"Then, why does she emit that kind of aura?"

"I wouldn't be so sure." Loki replied. "But, there's a possibility that she is related to the divine beings or something like that. I can't remember, though, maybe I'll check about it when we're back at home." She continued while taking her glass again.

"If you're not too drunk, at least." I sighed.

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

I did feel like somebody is watching me. But, with me just being in the city for the past few hours, I wouldn't think they meant harm.

Then I realized that a stout, older lady with blue clothes instead of green walked towards my table, bringing out the food that looks exactly what I have ordered.

"Here you go, girl, eat up!"

"Thanks Ma'am." I replied while started to dig in.

"You can just call me by Mama Mia, like the others do." She said. "Haven't seen you around here before, are you new here?"

"Um, yes, I guess?" I replied.

"I see." Mama Mia replied. "What Familia are you from?"

"Eh, familia?" I asked, confused at first, but then remembered what my father had said about Familias or something around those. "I haven't joined a familia yet, but my father recommended me to join the Hephaestus Familia."

"Oh, Goddess Hephaestus' Familia? That means you're pretty much a blacksmith at heart, I suppose?"

"I would prefer being said an apprentice Alchemist myself." I replied. "My father was a master Alchemist and I'm just his apprentice."

"Alchemists?" Mama Mia asked, this time she was the one being confused. "What kind of job did you do?"

"As alchemists, we usually created equipments and weapons from raw materials. What differentiate us from Blacksmiths are just because magic took quite a large part in the synthesis, and aside from the equipments and weapons, we sometimes also create potions too.

"That's pretty much like Hephaestus and Diancecht Familia combined." Mama Mia smiled in pride. "Anyway, I wouldn't bother too much. How was the meal?"

"It was delicious!" I replied, smiling.

That's an honest truth, I assure you. I was actually shocked at first. But now I realized that the price was actually worth it, even though it's still a bit on the high side. Not only the portion was bigger than the ones I ate at Yuidora's Bar, but the taste didn't betray the price. The chef should've been one hell of a star chef, I think.

"Well, the chef would be happy to hear that." Mama Mia said. "Enjoy your meal, girl, and I hope things went good between you and Goddess Hephaestus."

"Thanks!" I replied cheerfully.

* * *

**-3rd Person's PoV-**

"What are you girls talking about?" Mia asked after she entered the kitchen area and noticed some of 'her girls' are talking in a group. "We're still in work time. Get back to work, everyone!"

"Sorry, Mama Mia." The girls said as they went back to their posts. She then approached Ryuu, whose posts is indeed near the kitchen.

"Let me guess, are you talking about the new girl in the bar?"

"_H…Hai…_How do you know, Mama Mia?" Ryuu replied.

"It's obvious. She surely has left some impressions to me, so I guess the same goes to you all."

"…" Ryuu said nothing.

"Just continue the work now. If you want to talk about her, save it right after work."

"_Hai…_"

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

After finishing the meal, I quickly went to pay for the food and exited the bar. Next stop, an inn not far from here, to confirm if I had a place to spend the night.

It would be a simple walk, visit, confirm and then hit the sack for the day. Just as simple as that.

Never did I know, it won't be that easy like that in Orario.

.

As I walked towards my destination, I had to pass an alley for a shortcut to reach the destination faster. It was dark and seemed abandoned…

Well what do you expect from a shortcut anyway?

But that's not the actual problem.

While I was walking, I saw three grown-up men suddenly blocking my path.

"Oh, lookie, what do we have here?" I heard one of them saying.

"That sack behind her back looks full…that must be filled with magic stones worth millions of valis." Another one added.

"Who are you all?" I asked in curiosity and alertness, from the tone of them they actually did mean harm!

"Our names don't matter. Give that sack to us and you're free to go." Said another voice.

"Not in a million years." I said as I turned back to escape. I could conclude at last that these men are thugs.

Too bad for me, another two were blocking my escape path.

"Oops, sorry, this road is blocked." Mocked the two.

Looking that the group is closing on me, I have no choice.

I gently opened the sack, and took something from inside, much to the grinning of the group…

…only to be angered when instead of taking what they wanted, I took up my hammer instead.

"What's this? You wanted to fight us?" One of them mocked.

"You're stupid, girl. You know you're going one against five, and we aren't just bark, to add."

And with that, the five of them charged at me. Armed with only a hammer, I was purely in a huge disadvantage. What's more, I realized that what they had said might be right.

They're moving very fast, and in organized motion too. They are way much better than the thugs in Yuidora, no offense there.

One of the thugs directed a punch at me in a quick motion. It was close, but I managed to sway it away by hitting the fist with the hammer before reaching my body, causing him to wince in pain. The other four, looking at the wincing ally of them, was greatly angered.

"You're asking for death, girl."

They unsheathed their weapons, their knives to be exact, and charged me from four different directions. Of course, one against four, let alone myself being unfamiliar about the terrain around here, put me at an even disadvantageous position.

Great, first day in Orario and I have to experience this. What a welcome…

I did my best to repel their attacks. Once every few blows I repelled their attacks with a thwack, either on the fists like what I did to the first thug, or on random places that vary on pain. It could go almost painless on the armored part of the men, or it could be painful on places such as…well…you know it.

But then, one clean slice followed by a direct hit had sent me flying motionlessly, and I hit the ground hard. The sack, luckily, was still hanging on my back.

Or should I say unlucky instead? Because that meant the thugs were still approaching me.

Due to the clean hits on my body and the hard impact on the ground, not counting how many times I took direct hit from their punches, I couldn't move freely due to the sudden burst of pain.

Though, I don't know if I could be commendable on the achievement that it took them more than ten clean blows plus a slice to finally put me in this state.

"This girl just … when … quit, eh?"

"Well, … she's down, we … kill her … her belongings."

The sound was unclear since I couldn't hear them clearly anymore. I tried to get up but the surge of pain stopped me on my tracks. I could've gotten a few broken bones or something similar.

"No, I can't fall down here. My adventure hasn't even long started." I winced.

From the hazy line of sight, I saw the group approaching closer to me…

..

..

'I can't…give up…here!'

All of a sudden, everything around me was turning bright. I felt my pain was slowly fading away, and my ears could finally hear everything around me clearly. Only my vision was now all blindly bright.

I sighed. I knew what was going on, and I knew my mother and father will scold me for this.

Of all times, why it has to be triggered here and now…

* * *

-**Hostess of Fertility-**

**-Ryuu's PoV-**

I was standing at the front of the Hostess of Fertility, below me was a beaten-up drunk adventurer. You can actually imply that I had just kicked out a drunk customer for some reasons that's already too common.

I was just planning to go inside when suddenly I saw a burst of light suddenly appeared at one of the alleys not far from here. Curious, I decided to see what happened.

"Ryuu, where are you going?"

"Something's happening. I'll be right back shortly!"

I ran quickly towards the source of the light, turned out to be inside one of the shortcut backalleys. As I got closer I felt the light was getting brighter, and finally, after fighting against blindness, I arrived to see a sight I had never expected to see.

In front of me was a figure clad in blue and golden armor, winged helmet, and golden spear is on her hand. Moreover, on her back was a pair of white-sky blue wings that seems to be the source of the blinding light. What's more, the figure is indeed not standing on the ground, but she was levitating. Near the place where she levitated were a bunch of unconscious men.

Looking at such, I decided to take my weapon and moved closer towards the figure. I could eventually go as near as being able to recognize the face. Blonde hair, brown eyes, but this time without glasses. However, there's no mistaking it. She really is the girl that had just visited the Hostess of Fertility

Just then, the brightness that seemed to almost blind me started to fade, glowing dimmer and dimmer as her feet touched the ground, and her wings faded along with the dimming light.

The spear dematerialized as it was nowhere to be found, and her armor disappeared along with it, leaving the girl back into the clothes that she had been using when she visited the bar.

Except the fact that there's a slice mark on it, and traces of blood was also visible.

Then she passed out.

* * *

**A/N: I never expected myself to spoil one of her powers as early as the first chapter. But at least, I gave you a vague picture on how her half-archangel blood affected her fighting capability. Only this time it was a bit uncontrollable. I'll give you a clearer details when she got a Falna (at least if she did).**

**The wiki did help a lot! Thank you again to the both of you!**

**Please Read and Review. I knew I rushed the story so badly, but seriously, it's hard to insert fillers or anything related to it. What's more, I can't actually make a very long story since I only got two week worth of break, and then it goes back to the heavy routine where I couldn't find enough time to update my stories.**

**No flames, please. But feel free to point out any mistakes and the suggestion to repair it. Giving critics without actually giving enough reason or constructive suggestion will eventually count as flaming. **

**Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	3. Overview about Orario (by Ryuu Lion)

**Again, thanks for the follows and favs. And since, by the time I posted these, there wouldn't have been any new reviews, we can skip the formalities and let's continue to the next chapter!**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 2: Overview about Orario (by Ryuu Lion)**

* * *

-Alva's PoV-

It was bright, blindingly bright that I am a bit hesitant to open my eyes.

"—va"

I heard some sounds. It was still a bit unclear, but I thought I registered a little part of it.

"Alva."

Somebody's calling my name. I needed to respond to it, right? But, I had to know who is calling me.

I opened my eyes, and gasped. I wasn't in a place that's unfamiliar. On the contrary, this is…

The Cliffside Church.

H-How can I be here? Shouldn't I be in Orario on my adventure? Then, how?

I put myself deep in thought, trying to remember what had happened with me, before the sound was calling me again.

"Alva…"

This sound, it couldn't be…!

I turned towards my back, the source of the sound, to see a flying figure, no, she's actually sitting on one of the pillars of the church. The figure looks pretty much like me except with blue eyes and a bright, pure white wings that glows a bit in the golden side. I instantly recognized her, of course.

"M-Mom? How can you be…no…how am I here?"

"Alva, dear." I could see Mom now started to descend towards the church floor, tapping her feet on it. "Calm down for a while."

She then took my hand, pulled me closer and enveloped me in a hug. I could feel the coldness of the armor she's been wearing, but, at the same time, warmth from her bare hands.

"Alva, you're not in the Cliffside church. Look around you, this time look more thoroughly."

I released myself from the hug and looked around me. On the first glance it really looked like the Cliffside Church, but when I followed her suggestion to see more thoroughly, I realized that this place is much bigger, cleaner and brighter than the said church, it really felt like…a sanctuary?

No…it can't be, right?

"Is this…the Angels' Sanctuary?"

My mother nodded, shocking me at the revelation of the possible scenario. "You are indeed in the Angels' Sanctuary, but that doesn't mean that you are dead, Alva. In fact, this is not the real sanctuary like you've been thinking."

Eh? What did she mean by saying that?

"Alva, do you remember what happened with you before?"

That question then had me fall deep in thought. What was actually happening before? I remember I visited a bar called the Hostess of Fertility, had some dinner, paid up and decided to go to the inn that I had gotten information about, using the shortcut so I could reach the place quicker, and then…

I gasped. Now I remember.

"I…took a detour so I can arrive at the inn quicker, but then I was stopped by a group of men, trying to rob me from my belongings. I defended myself but fell to their consecutive blows and attacks."

"Just that?" I saw my mom looking dead serious at me, although her face slowly changed into a smile…no…more like a smirk herself.

Okay, like I said…I can't lie in front of her…

"Okay, fine, at my last moments, I activated my Angel's Blessing and turned into my Angel form, defeating the five attackers of mine, and then…I didn't remember."

"Yes, you're right." She replied softly with a smile, making me a bit confused. "Though, don't say your last moments. Like I had said, you're not dead yet."

I am still confused even after she retold me for the second time, but I could ask about it later, for now I wanted to ask her directly about something.

"Aren't you mad at me, for using the Angel form to defeat those thugs, while actually knowing the consequences I might suffer?"

"I would." She said. "But, it's for your last defense since I saw you're almost getting killed; thus, I couldn't blame you for that. However," She paused; her eyes were now glaring at me. "This is a sign that you're careless. You know you could pick the main road, the safer path. After all, you're in a new city that you're unfamiliar of. You must've been more wary towards your surroundings." She finally scolded me.

"You're right. Sorry, Mom." I hung my head low, feeling the guilt that rushed inside my body.

"Rise up, Alva. You're done okay now. In fact, you're still wanting to continue your adventure that hasn't even started for long, right?"

I looked at mother's face and nodded.

"Then, you should keep your word. Do not let yourself led astray again, and remember, your father and siblings are cheering for you, and I'll always be there if you're in a dire situation."

"Thanks, Mom." I said as I hugged her again.

"You're welcome. Now, we'll let you continue your adventure that you've been wanting for. See you when we meet again, Alva. I love you."

"I love you, Mom."

Then, she disappeared, and the place surrounding me suddenly flashed very brightly that I had to close my eyes, and then, it faded into darkness.

* * *

After some time, I opened my eyes again. This time, instead of the sanctuary, I found my sight in contact with a wooden structure, probably of a ceiling or something like that. Confused, I looked at my right to see that I am indeed in a room, a bedroom, or at least a room with a bed, to be specific, since I could feel the softness of the surface where my body laid, and around me were stuffs that naturally could be found in a bedroom or an inn.

Wait…didn't I recall that the last thing I remembered was my transformation? If so, how could I end up in this room?

And then…where's my sack? Don't tell me…

I tried to get up from the bed, but just as I did so, a heavy surge of pain quickly rushed through my body, so heavy that I could actually scream due to it.

Though, I restrained myself and winced instead. However, it was probably still loud enough that I heard somebody asking on my door.

"Are you okay there?"

"Uh…I'm fine." I replied. But it seems like the figure was not convinced at all as she opened the door and entered. I instantly recognized the figure.

"A-Aren't you one of the waitresses of the Hostess of Fertility?" I asked.

"Mhm, you're right." She said with a soft voice and a little cheerful smile.

"Why are you here? No…scratch that…where am I?" I asked, truly confused about what is going on.

"Calm down, miss. You are in the same bar where you had dinner two days ago."

"Dinner? That means I'm in the Hostess of Fertility?" I asked. "And did you say two days ago?"

"Yes, Yes, and Yes." The waitress replied.

"Wait a second…I thought I remembered that I had paid for my meal and took off from the bar, and then I decided to go find an inn, taking a shortcut through a backalley…and…"

"And then you're knocked out cold there." The waitress replied. "Possibly of an attack."

"Wait, you know?" I asked. "H-How?"

"Well, Ryuu found you there and brought you back here. Besides, you might want to take a look at your stomach." She gestured and pointed at my upper abdomen, which I realized was wrapped in bandages, and a tint of dark was visible on a certain part. It should be obvious that the tint was definitely blood.

Then it hit me. I remembered catching a clean slice from one of the attackers, but it felt almost like nothing since it was followed by a clean hit as well. My body's already wrecked enough that the pain was unbearably numbing my senses.

Just remembering that induced a slight frown and anger rushing towards my face, but also enticed a feeling of pain from the slice wound.

I hissed.

"Are you okay?" The waitress asked again.

"I'm fine."

"Anyway, if you want to know what happened, you should ask Ryuu…"

"Syr, what are you doing there? Mama Mia asked for your pres…" the speech stopped, and both of us turned towards the figure that appeared on the doorstep. It was the elven waitress of the bar.

"Ah, Ryuu, good timing." The human waitress, which I now recognized having a name "Syr" replied. "The girl was just being awake. Maybe you could enlighten her of what happened when you brought her here?"

Come to think of it, I remembered this gray-haired waitress called her by Ryuu yesterday. So, does that mean, this elven waitress Ryuu was the one carrying me back here?

"I'll be leaving you two alone, okay?" Syr said as she exited the room, leaving just me and this Ryuu in the room.

* * *

There was practically an awkward silence for a while, before I had to be the one to crack it up.

"So, umm, Ryuu-_san_, thanks for carrying me back here." I thanked the elf.

"It's no big deal, umm…"

"Oh, right, I never introduced myself." I said, remembered that I indeed hadn't introduced myself to the waitresses, especially since I don't have to. But now, she had saved me, and moreover, I knew her name thanks to her friend back then. Thus, I should've introduced myself too. "My name's Alvaretta Dion. You can call me by Alva, if you want."

"Yeah, it's no big deal, Alva-_san_, but I think you should thank Syr instead. She had tended to your wounds and nursed you while you're out. I'm not worthy for your thanks." Ryuu replied.

"Ah, but I heard from her that you carried me back here, so you deserved the thanks too." I replied with a little sneer, causing her to actually smile a little. "Though, I am still confused. How long was I out in the alley before you found me? And what actually happened after that? What about the thugs?"

Her smile faded, as now she felt like a little 'confused' herself. She didn't answer me, is there something wrong? Did I hit the wrong button?

"Well, if I'm going to be honest. I found you before you passed out."

That's the answer I've been looking for…wait…what?

Did she just say "before you passed out"? I'm not hearing wrongly, am I? If she really did find me before I passed out…

Then…that means…

"You saw it, didn't you?"

"Eh?" Ryuu was a bit dumbfounded. "Well, I didn't see too much, Syr might saw a lot more."

"Wait, Syr did?" My face looked a bit more horrified.

"I guess…since she was the one tending to your wounds…she might have been the one to take off your shirt too." She replied a little bashfully.

Huh? What's the deal with the shirt? What did she mean?

It took me some time to realize that she was referring to a different point…she's taking my question the wrong way, and the realization did make me blush.

"No…no…I'm not talking about that." I said, still blushing. "I mean back at the alley."

"Oh?"

"You saw my transformation, didn't you?"

"Uh…err…_g-gomenasai_…but…unfortunately yes." Ryuu replied awkwardly, a pang of guilt washed her. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, no need to apologize." I said, comforting the blonde elf. "That's partly my fault for being careless too. I should've taken the main road instead of the backalleys, I never expected that it could be dangerous."

Ryuu just nodded, her little smile seemed to return to her face.

"Though, I just hoped that no one else knew about it." I said.

"About your angel transformation?" Ryuu asked. "Mama Mia and the others had actually been a bit curious about it, but that's as far as they know."

"Well…"

"I can keep it a secret if you want. After all, this divine transformation case is pretty much rare in Orario." Ryuu added.

"What do you mean?"

"After seeing your angel form by myself, I could tell that you're either an Angel in disguise or someone related to it. If the first case is true, then everyone might think of you as a Goddess or a divine being."

"Though, I doubt if there's a Goddess named Alva." I joked. "And well, the second case is true instead: My mother is an archangel, but my father is human, thus it could be safe to say that I'm a half-archangel instead." I added. "And yes, please keep this a secret for a while. If what you had said is true, it could possibly lead to a problem."

"You can count on me. Alva-_san_." Ryuu replied. "Oh, anyway, you don't have to worry about the thugs, they're now already in custody of the Guild, and there's nothing much happening while you are out."

"I see. That's a relief" I replied, before registering the answer. "Wait, Guild?"

"Yes, why?"

"Uh, what do you mean by Guild?"

Ryuu was dumbfounded at first, but later she began to explain about it, considering that I knew almost nothing. Turns out that the Guild is referring to the Adventurer's Guild, led by a god called Ouranos, and it's pretty much almost the same like Yuidora's Alchemist Guild led by my father. I also learned that to explore the Dungeon of the city, I have to register myself as an adventurer in the Guild, and to receive a blessing, which they called Falna, from the Goddess of a familia that I joined. Thus, it was usually the second one to be done first, and then the first one.

In short, if things were going according to my plan, I would have to join Hephaestus' Familia (Mama Mia did say that Hephaestus here in Orario is a Goddess, so should I refer to her as Goddess Hephaestus instead?), receive her blessing, and then register myself as an adventurer in the Guild, that's pretty much what I should do, right?

Well, if everything went according to plan, that is.

"Anyway, you might want to take a little clean-up or a bath right now since you were out for two days already. And should I lend you some spare clothes? Your previous one looks tattered and still reeks of blood."

"It's okay, you don't have to, thanks. At least I wanted to know where my sack is." I asked.

"Sack? If you're talking about your traveling pack, then it is there on the chair." Ryuu said, pointing at the chair near the bed.

"Ah, that's a relief." I said. "Seriously, I don't know how the thugs thought that it was filled with magic stones, and they were just looking angry when I took out a hammer from it instead."

That caught Ryuu's attention. "They must've been thinking that you're asking for a fight with them." She said. "But, there are really no magic stones in there, right?"

"No, just my tools and…well…some spare clothes." I said cheekily. "Anyway, I think I'll be taking a bath, and then I should be going."

"Alright, but before you're leaving, please spend a little time to meet Syr and Mama Mia. You've been out for two days so they figured you'll need something to fill up." Ryuu said. "I'll be in front of the room if you need something, Alva-_san_."

"Got it. Thanks, Ryuu-_san_."

With that, I decided to take a bath and, while inside, pondering on how I could get into all that mess, about what mother had said in the sanctuary, which technically was a dream but I felt like her presence was so real, and about what I should do after this.

I undressed the last pieces of my clothing, opened up the bandages, revealing a scabbed slice wound that looks pretty disgusting, and entered the bath, wincing a little as I felt pain gushed from the wound when it hit the water. I felt the warmth and the comfort of the warm bath soothed myself. Well, it was practically the first time I had one outside my home. And to think that I hadn't taken a bath in at least three days…

Dispensing the thoughts, I finished my cleanup, taking the spare clothes I put in the sack, and prepared to leave. Taking my sack, I exited the room and followed Ryuu, who was really waiting outside the room, downstairs to the bar area. There, Syr and Mama Mia had been waiting for me.

"You finally woke up, girl." Mama Mia was the one speaking up first. "Honestly, to be assaulted on your first day here. It must be tough for you."

"Uh, well, that's right." I replied nervously,

"But, to think that you could survive against five trained adventurers…"

Uh-oh, I sweatdropped nervously…don't tell me Mama Mia knew…

"You must be very strong and experienced then. Hephaestus Familia will be so proud if they take you in."

Oh, maybe I didn't have to worry…

"Anyway, since you're out for two days." Mama Mia said as she took out a big plate of food, pasta to be exact. "Here, chow down."

"T-Thanks a lot, Mama Mia." I said as I eventually almost started to dig in, but before that. "Ah, I remember. Syr, thanks for taking care of my wounds." I thanked the gray-haired waitress, who was surprised to hear that.

"Y-You're welcome. But, how do you know my name?"

"I heard Ryuu called you by that name so I just thought that worked well." I replied sheepishly. "I'm Alvaretta Dion, by the way, Alva for short."

"Ah, alright then, Alva-_san_." Syr said. "Looks like you and Ryuu have gotten along pretty well, I suppose? Oh, and you should dig in before the food gets cold"

"Pretty much." I smiled as I started to dig in.

A few minutes later, I thanked Mama Mia for the meal, and proceeded to pay. Mama Mia at first refused, but I insisted and so she named the price, much to my shock, is pretty much lower than the price I expected. Was that because of the fact that it was like "emergency food" since I haven't eaten for two days? Or was it something else.

"_Sore ja_, I'm leaving. Thank you for taking care of me, everyone." I said cheerfully. "I hope I can meet you all again in the future!"

And with that, I left the Hostess of Fertility. To be honest, I started to like that place even though I spent most of the time being unconscious. Now, with everything back to normal, I could continue with my plan.

"Alright, next stop, Hephaestus' Familia's place."

* * *

**A/N: And I decided to stop here for the chapter. It's getting late too here. **

**At first, I planned for Alva to meet Bell at the last part of the chapter, I planned the scenario when Bell is waiting for Syr about lunchboxes or something related to it, then at one occasion, instead of Syr, it was Alva meeting him and she was the one calling Syr, and then Syr will be introducing Bell to Alva and vice-versa. But, the problem is, I'm still not sure about this lunch-box thingy. Is it Bell waiting for one or Syr is waiting for Bell to give the boxes every morning? And then, is Syr living in the Hostess or Fertility? With that plotholes still looming in my mind, I decided to actually change the plot and thus Alva hadn't met Bell (except with the chance encounter at the prologue) in this chapter.**

**Next chapter will be around Hephaestus' Familia and the registration at the Guild. You may not believe me, but my first plan was to introduce Alva to Hephaestus' Familia directly at the first chapter, but now, even after two chapters plus the prologue, it hasn't happened yet. Looks like I did enjoy writing this pretty well without rushing too much, but again, I hope you guys like it.**

**Please Read & Review! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. **

**Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	4. Hephaestus' Familia

**A/N: Back with another chapter. Thanks for the favs/follows and thanks to ****Shin Hyo Joon**** for the support. I'm glad to hear that you're interested in this first-trial fic.**

**Anyway, I'm writing this chapter in a bit of a rush and tiredness, that's why you might find several mistakes. Feel free to comment and I'm sorry for those mistakes**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 3: Hephaestus' Familia**

* * *

-Alva's PoV—

If there's one thing I realized upon my entrance towards this city, is that I had entered this city late in the night, and I spend the rest of the time being knocked out unconscious. Thus, I really have no idea how this city was in the morning or afternoon.

And at this time, I finally experienced it for the first time.

Like Yuidora, no, even more than that, Orario was bustling and crowded in the afternoon. I could see a lot of activities going on as I passed by the road onto my destination. From children playing around, some teenagers and adults walking onto one direction, swords or any other weapons was visible, and some people were carrying sacks like I did. Judging from what I had learned, I might guess that the sacks are filled with magic stones (thinking of that just made my head ache because of the terrible experience), and they were just come back from the city's dungeon.

Interestingly, from what I had seen, there practically wasn't anyone who brought mining tools like pickaxes, sickles or any other of those types. That's strange, considering these two items are very common to be brought in the dungeon when I was back in Yuidora.

Or maybe I'm just imagining things. After all, there's no guarantee that the dungeon here in Orario is of the same type as the one back in my hometown.

Dismissing the thoughts, I continued my journey, not failing to notice that the amount of the people going against my direction was getting higher and higher, that the street became too crowded. As such, I accidentally bumped into one of them.

"Watch where you're going, little girl!" He growled.

"I'm sorry." I quickly replied and took off. Am I annoyed by that guy, though? Yes, I am, but I'm not in a position to fire back. Not only because he looked stronger, but also that what he said is a little on the right side, I lost focus for a while back then, and bumped into him.

But then, I could classify that man as one prideful lot, though. That made me think, if all the adventurers in Orario were all like this. If that's the case, then it would be a tough adventure for my part…

"Bump!"

"Ahhh…" This time I collided so hard that I somehow fell down.

I bumped myself again…I'm just waiting for the same grumble to sting my eardrums again, I deserved it.

But…

"Are you okay, miss?"

Wait…what?

I looked upward (I still in falling position) to see a young boy, possibly younger than me, with a bit messy white hair and sharp ruby eyes. The boy wore a simple silver-colored armor and a knife is on his waist.

I then realized that he is extending his right hand towards me, most likely with the purpose of helping me to get up.

I recognized this boy to be the one that was angrily running when I first arrived in Orario. Who knew that we might meet again, albeit again in such an accident.

I gently took his hand and got up, dusting my clothes off from the dirt and dust that started to stick on my clothes. The boy didn't leave, however, instead he still looked at me with a face of concern.

"A-Are you alright?" He asked me, again it looked like it was out of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't see where I am going." I replied.

"_Ie…_, I am also one to blame. I was running without looking around and I accidentally bumped to you." He said. "Anyway, I'm sorry, but I have to go now!" He said. "Pleasure to meeting you, though!"

And then he took off, running again…making me sweatdrop.

But deep inside, I couldn't help but to smile, relieved that at least there's one adventurer that doesn't seem quite bad.

* * *

Continuing my journey for a few extra minutes, I arrived in front of a place that's pretty enormous. An emblem was visible on one of the high walls, in which there's a picture of two hammers crossing over a volcano. According to the information I gathered, this is indeed the emblem of the Hephaestus' Familia, meaning that I have arrived at my destination.

From outside, I could see that this place is pretty huge, like a mansion, fitting for a large Familia to live in. I could reckon that this Hephaestus' Familia was one large Familia, but I couldn't be so sure myself.

I began to muster up my courage and try to walk closer to the front door of the mansion, but each step forward just increased the nervousness that welled inside my mind. It might be a bit out of character for me since I was, to be honest, the rash-type of girl. But, being in a foreign land, not counting out the fact that I was still very new here, then it was completely natural for such.

And I haven't even gotten myself close enough to the place for a good ten minutes. I tried to think of what I should say after I knocked and entered the place, or something like that. But, nothing comes pretty well in my mind.

Until…

"Hello? What are you doing outside my Familia's mansion?"

I gasped in shock to hear the words and quickly turned around, to see another boy, no, this time he's a bit older, with a bit spiky red hair and light grey-blue eyes standing just behind me.

"Ah, sorry." I replied. "I just wanted to speak with Goddess Hephaestus."

"Eh, you want to speak with my Goddess?" The guy asked.

"Your Goddess? That means you're from Hephaestus' Familia?"

He nodded sheepishly. "Yup, I am. But, what do you want to speak with her about though?"

I was taken aback. But I tried my best to calm down and said the truth. "I am considering to join her Familia. I heard that her Familia is one of the greatest Blacksmith Familia of the city."

"Well said." The guy replied. "Though, I have to remind you that it wouldn't be easy to convince her." He continued.

"I know, that should have been expected from a well-known familia." I replied sheepishly. "By the way, I'm Alvaretta Dion, Alva for short. Nice to meet you mister."

"I'm Welf Crozzo, you can call me Welf. Nice to meet you too, Alva." He replied back. "Anyway, I'm going in to search for Goddess, you can wait here for a while. Don't worry, it won't take long."

"All right." I said, as I watched the boy named Welf entered the mansion, while I was waiting outside.

* * *

Now, while waiting, I tried to recap every information I had gathered, and process it deeply in my mind.

First, about Orario. It was getting obvious that Orario was practically more challenging than Yuidora in terms of familiarity, but it was also obvious that everything was practically a level higher. The thugs are stronger, the food is better, and many other things. Thus I wouldn't be surprised if this Hephaestus Familia, being a very well-known smithing familia, would have works that had better quality then Yuidora too.

And that also implied that the requirements to fulfill would be far more difficult, too. Father had never mentioned this, but I already expected it, or rather, I always expected something like that in general. But to experience it directly, it would pretty much terrifying to see.

Nervousness ran inside my mind again. Despite my father being the best Alchemist in Yuidora, that didn't mean that he would do as well here. And the same held for me too. I had to clear up my mind much more often than I usually did.

But the main question for this time would always loom inside my mind.

"Will I be able to?"

Despite the cheer up from my family, and the optimism shown by Mama Mia, I still felt very nervous now that I was in the process of finding out the truth.

"Alva, you all right?" Welf suddenly exited the mansion, surprising me from my trance.

"Y…Yeah. So, where is Goddess Hephaestus?"

"Apparently she was inside her workshop, getting very busy as always." He said. "If you mind to wait, you can wait inside for a while."

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm not part of the family, at least not yet." I asked.

"It's okay. In fact, it was the Captain's words. She should've been waiting at the living room." He said. "Follow me."

With that, I slowly entered the manor. While walking inside, I looked around to see a lot of weapons, armors, and many other decorations hanging on the walls. Despite being just a decoration, they looked so finely made, as if they were having a quality comparable to real weapons and armors for combat.

Such things caught my attention and enchanted my eyes. But at the same time, they could be a reason to galloping nervousness that again tried to well up inside me.

I mean, these weapons and armors have practically lost their main usage, if they were hung as decorations like this

What if, my hard-work and all I have made, they all just ended up like this? That alone practically sent a shiver down my spine.

But again, I decided to dismiss my thoughts as my eyes finally caught sight of another person waiting inside the place I might guess as the living room. A mature woman with black hair tied to a ponytail, and red eyes, or eye since one other eye was covered by a patch. She looked a bit stout and was annoyingly well-endowed on a certain area. When she saw us, she started to grin.

"Yo, Welf, never expected you to bring back home a girl."

Spontaneously that brought confusion on my part, but the boy in front of me practically looked like he was glaring at the woman.

"What the hell…" Welf grumbled. "This girl is the one I mentioned who wanted to join our Familia."

"Haha, I know, Welf. I'm just kidding." She said as she got up from her seat and walked towards me, her eyes were focused on me as if she was observing all about me, much to my fright.

"U…uhh…"

"Oops…sorry, did I scare you?" she said.

I nodded sideways. "No, I'm just a bit surprised."

"Pardon me then for making you uncomfortable." The woman said. "So, I think you have known about Welf, right?"

I nodded.

"Alright, then, I guess he didn't have to reintroduce himself, but I have to. I'm Tsubaki Collbrande, the Captain of the Hephaestus' Familia. I guess I don't have to say more than that, right?" She grinned. "How about you?"

"I-I'm Alvaretta Dion, usually called Alva. I came from an Alchemist City called Yuidora, that's far from here. And technically I just arrived here a few days ago." I introduced myself to the two of them, hiding the fact that I spent those days in unconsciousness.

"Alchemist city, eh?" Tsubaki asked. "I have heard of alchemists, they are practically just like us Smiths but with a little extra prowess in magic, am I right?"

"Yeah, we created weapons and armors like most smiths do, but sometimes we took it to the next level by inserting Magic inside it."

"That's almost like creating Magic Swords, then." Tsubaki said before turning to Welf, much to the boy's annoyance. "Okay, I won't pry too much about it. Though, if you said you came from the Alchemist City and decided to join us, that makes you an Alchemist yourself in your hometown, doesn't it?"

"Well, frankly speaking, I was still an apprentice to my father." I said, surprising the two. "But I've been learning for quite a long time already and thus I'm pretty confident with my skills."

I'm suppressing my nervousness here. Even though that sentence wasn't wrong, I was pretty confident with my skills, but I still felt a bit nervous when I said that.

"Well, let's see if you can impress our Goddess with your skills."

And, speak of the devil, I heard footsteps coming from the inner part of the mansion, nearing us, and the figure revealed herself as a beautiful woman with short messy red hair…no wait…she actually had a long hair that reached her waist area, but it was almost unnoticeable in an instant. Her face looked so strict and her eyes looked pretty scary in a glimpse, signing that she indeed was of a hardworking personality.

Well, what do you expect of a Goddess of a Smith familia?

"So, I heard someone wanted to join my familia." She said in a calm demeanor. Her stare was still sharp as before.

I retaliated for a while and then stood up, giving a bow. "It was I, Goddess Hephaestus. I would like to join your familia."

Hephaestus' stare hasn't left me. But I suddenly saw that she was flinching a little, as if she was noticing something unusual from me.

"Alright then." She said. "Follow me to my workshop, I need to ask a few questions."

* * *

I followed her to her workshop. Welf and Tsubaki didn't follow me though. They practically knew what will be going on, and they thought they shouldn't interfere.

Thus, when I was inside the workshop, she turned towards me, the sight was again as sharp as possible. To be honest, that didn't deter me at all. Instead, it was the fact that I'm going to be asked by the head of the well-known smith Familia of the city that made me feel something between fear and nervousness.

"So, first, please introduce yourself." She asked.

And so, I began my introduction, just like how I did one with Welf and Tsubaki, albeit this time it was much more formal. I'm talking with a Goddess, after all. I explained a lot about myself, not covering any truth of the matter, with the same reason. I actually wanted to give her the recommendation letter, but I restrained myself from doing so since I think it was a bit impolite.

"I see." Goddess Hephaestus replied. "Yuidora…I had heard about that city a few times, but to be honest, Goibniu knew that place better than me."

"Goibniu?"

"God Goibniu, of the Goibniu familia of Blacksmiths." She remarked. "Though, I'm surprised that your father recommended my familia instead of his. I mean, most of the weapons sold outside Orario are from the Goibniu familia instead of mine, although there are some in my familia selling outside the city too."

I didn't know what to say about this. I mean, my father never spoke about God Goibniu back in my home.

"Alright then. I wouldn't mind accepting you, but that is if you make an equipment…correction, two equipments that could make me impressed. For an Alchemist apprentice of the Alchemist Guild leader of Yuidora, I wanted to know how skilled you are."

And that, is the indicator of my test. It's a do or die situation, the most critical for this plan to continue.

* * *

I started to pick up my trusted hammer, which served multifunctionally for combat and smithing purposes. Good thing that this guy didn't break during that sudden attack.

Before I started, though, I wondered something.

'Why did Goddess Hephaestus want me to make two equipments instead of one?"

Making a weapon was never an easy task, and was never a short-time task either. A carefully-crafted weapon could take hours, or sometimes even days or weeks to finish. Both of us knew that and yet she still requested me to create two of them.

To be honest, I was still confused about it, and what to make. If I were to impress her, I have to make something that at least I could be impressed myself. That's a sufficient condition, but not a necessary one. At least, it would be better than making one that didn't impress myself.

Thus, I crafted two spears, made out of steel combined with extra materials I got from Yuidora Mine/Dungeon. Lucky for me, I was trained to create this, since it was, coincidentally, my choice of main weapon, alongside the hammer.

And here's where my alchemist instincts are kicking in.

One of the spears was added with Holy Bones, one of the rare materials in Yuidora Dungeon. It was practically one essential material, but could be dangerous and useless if it was treated poorly or with an incorrect dose of magic. Holy bones required Holy magic, something akin to Light Magic but a bit purer and more divine. This is actually risky coming from me since I am indeed only a half-archangel, not a pure one, and thus my Holy Magic is very limited.

But, I have to take the risk.

The other spear was added with something called omnipotent ore, another rare materials in Yuidora Dungeon. This one is less dangerous and having higher versatility, but the magic needed for this one was the one called "Omni Magic", magic that is not elemental-based, but not a divine one as well. It was practically one of the purest magic alongside the divine magic, and was considered the "most neutral magic" since they can't be resisted by elemental armors, but at the same time they can't penetrate elemental armors. I'll explain that later.

* * *

A few hours passed, and finally after a few embellishments, I presented the two spears to the Goddess. She inspected the spears and I gritted my teeth, feeling nervous of how I was doing with the 'test'. She didn't seem pleased, much to my horror, and turned towards me after a while.

"I'm going to pause my inspection for a while, since I wanted to ask you something." She said, in which I decided with a nod. "Aren't you suspicious on why I am asking you to create two of these instead of just one?"

"Well…" I thought for a while. "I am curious about it, but I eventually couldn't find the reason why."

"Alright then." Hephaestus replied. "I'm going to ask you a different question." She looked at me rather seriously again.

"Are you an angel? Or any other divine being?"

I gasped. How could she summarize everything like that? So it came down really to all about the angelic-related powers I have, wasn't it?

But then, I couldn't hide it with any other excuses, so I just told her straight to the point.

"I am not, at least not a pure one." I started my answer. "I am what they called a half-angel, half-archangel to be more specific. My mother is an Archangel but my father is a human."

"Okay, that's enough." She said. "Now, back to your weapons."

She took hold of my spears, and put it in front of her, on her workbench. "For an apprentice, you're doing great, but you still got a way to go." She said with a serious expression.

I deflated hearing that answer. That had meant I failed to impress her, hadn't it?

"Though, creating two spears with these affinities is practically never an easy job." She remarked. "I would have to admit, most people will eventually give up when they heard about this request of mine. But you seemed like you're taking this pretty seriously."

I continued to listen.

"When I saw you in the living room, I noticed the faint divinity inside you and thus I knew what had to be done. And at the same time too, I could feel the same aura from this one spear." She said. "You're really trying to make me impressed, aren't you?"

"Uh, well, that's what I should do, right?" I replied.

"Well, that's it." She still looked at me pretty seriously, but I realized that she softened up a little on the sharp gaze. "You can call me impressed, but I need to warn you on some parts."

She took hold of the holy spear. "The reason I asked you to create two spears is because of the divine aura of this one. I really liked the design and the strength of this, but I have to say that we can't use this weapon in the dungeons."

"Eh?" I was dumbfounded. "Why?"

"I'll let the guild explain it to you. It was again related to divine aura that both of us have. You'll eventually find out why we Gods/Goddesses can't enter the dungeon for the same reason." She explained, before taking hold of the second spear. "This one is acceptable, except that it's a bit magically unstable, if I should say."

Yeah, if there's one thing that made Omni Magic-weapons weaker than any other, is the damage stability. Usually the more stable an equipment is, the more stable the damage output in comparison to the mana cost. Omni-Magic, despite being able to nullify resistances, they are pretty much unstable on the damage output.

"But, despite all the flaws, you are actually showing your stuff, Alvaretta Dion." Goddess Hephaestus said, finally showing a smile. "If you promised to continue your hard work, then I'll gladly accept you as a part of my Familia."

My face instantly turned into a cheerful one as I showed her a huge smile on my own.

"I promise."

"Then, welcome to the family, Alvaretta Dion."

"Thank you, Goddess."

"Now, please turn around and take off your shirt. I'm going to give you my blessing."

It took a few minutes for the 'ritual' to complete, and I felt a little tingly on practically almost the whole time.

-Hephaestus' PoV-

I finished giving my blessing and I slapped a paper on the newly acquired Falna, then looking at it thoroughly. It wasn't so surprisingly overpowered or something like that, nor that it doesn't make sense too. But, looking at all of this, I really need to have a word or two with this girl.

**(-)**

**Alvaretta Dion**

**[Level Two]**

**Strength: H112**

**Endurance: F377**

**Dexterity: F301**

**Agility: I26**

**Magic: E402**

**Skills:**

**Congenital Ability (Half-Apsael): Angel's Blessing: Cost MP continuously to turn into Angelic Form, higher Endurance and Magic means lower continual MP cost. High Initial MP Cost. Automatically triggered on low HP.**

**Congenital Ability (Half-Apsael): Dark Bane:  
In Human Form, user takes more damage from Dark Element attacks but deals more damage to Dark-type enemies.  
In Angel Form, high resistance against Dark Element attacks, takes all damage from Dark Element attacks by MP instead of HP, and deals more damage to Dark-type enemies.**

**Alchemist: Weapons and Equipment created may be infused with elemental-magic. [Half-Apsael: Restricted to Holy, Light and Omni-magic Attributes]. Ability to create basic potions (quality scales with level)**

**Prevail: Increased Physical Defense/Magic Resist on lower HP. (Requires Level 3)**

**Development Abilities:**

**Blacksmith D: Enables the user to create low to middle-level weapons and equipment.**

**Magic:**

**Human Form (usable in Angel Form too):**

**Congenital Magic: Lumen Transfigo: Create a spear-like burst of light to damage an enemy. Reduces enemy magic resistance. (Locked: Requires Level 3)**

**Angel Form**

**Congenital Magic: Sanctus Claustrum: High AoE Holy Magic. High MP Cost, High Penetration Rate, Radius scales with Magic Stats.**

**(-)**

* * *

'For a Level 2, she had got quite a lot of skills. But that's not the problem here.' I thought.

Yes, the problem does not lie upon the amount of skills. It lies, actually, on the skills themselves. Some of them are related to Holy Magic, that's practically similar to our Divine Arcanum, only weaker. However, it is still risky even for a small amount of it on the dungeons.

"What is it, Goddess?" Alva asked me.

"Uh…nothing. You can see it for yourself." I said as I handed in the paper towards her. She didn't seem surprised, though, which means the ability is natural for her.

Despite that, I still have to warn her.

"You've got quite a handful there." I said. "Angel Form?"

"Ah, about that…my race can actually turn into one at the cost of MP. It was practically dangerous since it needed a lot of MP to initialize."

"I see." I replied curiously. "Are you, by chance, planning to go to the dungeons as well?"

She nodded.

"Then, for safety reasons, can you please restrain on using your Angel form in the dungeons?"

"I never planned to. The last time I used it I ended up falling unconscious." I heard Alva replied. "I had to be taken care by the waitresses of Hostess of Fertility and I was out for two full days."

That caught my attention.

"Hostess of Fertility? Does that mean you have used your transformation once in Orario?"

"Unintended, but yes." She replied. "On my very first day in Orario I was attacked by a group of thugs, and was beaten to the verge of death, and as it was shown in this parchment, my Angel's Blessing automatically activate, and then after a work on them, I didn't remember anything and there you have it."

'Then it's a case of Mind Down, since it says "High Initial MP Cost' and 'Continual MP Cost'' I thought, finding a conclusion.

"Well, I'm sorry for what happened back then. But it's a relief that you survived." I said. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Now that you've been accepted as a part of my familia, and since you said you wanted to go to the dungeons too, then I suppose I could ask Tsubaki to escort you to your room, and tomorrow I can ask Welf to help you register as an adventurer in the guild. You got it?"

"_Hai, Kami-sama_."

"Remember, heed my warnings."

"_Hai!"_

With that, I quickly called Tsubaki and let her escort Alva to her new room. Meanwhile, after all the incidents, I began to ponder myself about all that happened within the new recruit and her powers.

I think, I have to discuss about this with someone…

* * *

**A/N: Uff…The last part of this chapter had jumbled my brain enough, and I was so tired that I didn't know if I had made something wrong or not, so pardon me if there are some mistakes on it.**

**I know everyone will say that an adventurer will always start at Level 1 after given the blessing, I'm still not sure about it, but I couldn't make her level too high as well, thus I think I'll stick with Level 2, but feel free to suggest a revision or something similar.**

**Actually I'm not quite happy about this chapter. I wanted to hear your opinion of this chapter too. Is it confusing? Boring? Or interesting?**

**Please R&R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated and Flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	5. To the Guild

**I have read some top favorited/followed stories in Danmachi and they was criticized for having their characters start not at Level 1. Author ****Shin Hyo Joon**** has also told me about the level system so thank you so much for that. **

**However, I'll stick with Level 2, not because I'm going to steer away from the popular belief, but actually there might be a reason, it could be found at one of the future chapters. You don't need any knowledge in Kamidori to understand. You'll need it only at the Prologue or some little parts of the chapters, and even that is not fully Kamidori-canon-ish.**

**Anyway, thanks for the review, author ****Shin Hyo Joon****! And to answer your curiosity, well, I wouldn't say either yes or no, let's see how it progressed though. It would be challenging if she did fall for him, especially since too many girls have fallen so, but it's not impossible.**

**Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 4: To The Guild**

* * *

-**Alva's PoV-**

After all that interview (or whatever it is called), I was escorted by Tsubaki, now officially my captain, to one of the rooms. Apparently, they still have an unused room that I can use as my room, or according to Tsubaki herself, would be my workshop from now on.

As an alchemist, there's this kind of satisfaction and pride to have your own workshop. All this time I was just working on my father's, helping him on his works. Even though I enjoyed every last bit of it, I would always want to have my own workshop.

And here I was, having my own workshop as a part of Hephaestus Familia.

"What time did you usually get up, Alva?" I heard captain ask me. I wonder what the reason was. Though, there'd be nothing bad telling her, right?

"That's pretty hard to answer, that depends on at what time I slept. It could be early in the morning, can be late, or sometimes even in the afternoon." I replied. "Why are you asking that?"

"Well, Goddess said that you're going to register for the guild tomorrow, right?" she asked. "Then, you should do that as early as possible. it won't take only a short time for the registration, and if possible, you might want to go to the Dungeon at the same time, won't you think so?"

Ah, that's right! I remembered that I did want to explore this city's dungeon. Heck, it was one of the reasons why I wanted to start the adventure here.

Well, that means I had to get up early tomorrow, the most logical implication of what the captain had said.

"Alright then, I'll try to get up as early as I can." I said.

And with that, captain Tsubaki exited my room (workshop).

After she left, I began to ponder on what had happened today, and what might be happening tomorrow.

Let's recap, today I had just met some interesting figures. First is an exceptional adventurer which is different from the other adventurers I had met. He's young and his soul seemed a little purer than the others, at least that's what I had felt, I didn't know the real him though. But hopefully his 'purity' is pretty real.

Next, I had met two friends, now colleagues, my captain Tsubaki Collbrande, which, after a little talk during her escort to my room, was a half-dwarf, and is on her thirties. If we're talking about age, she could actually be suited to be my mother-figure in this familia.

And then there's a guy named Welf Crozzo. For some reason he wanted me to call him Welf instead of his family name. It's not like I didn't like it, but I thought most people didn't want to be called with their first name except if their bonds were already intimate enough.

Oh well, I'm not in my place to judge.

And then there's Goddess Hephaestus. She seemed very strict and might probably be a bit scary. I couldn't expect anything less, though. This Familia is known to be a well-known Familia of smithing, and as I had known, smithing takes a decent amount of discipline, and so I would think that it was weird if the Goddess weren't strict.

Shockingly, she could distinguish me as a part-divine-being, although her guess is not accurate since she had thought I was a pure divine being instead of a half one. Well, hopefully I wouldn't be a burden to her.

Now that I'm joining one of the greatest Familia of Blacksmiths, I would have a very big responsibility in front of me, starting from now.

Dismissing the ponder, or rather, the topic of the pondering, I shifted my topic to what I would be doing tomorrow. According to the schedule the Familia and I had agreed, I would be registering myself as an adventurer with the Guild, accompanied with Welf. And then, I might possibly enter the Dungeon for the first time, well, that would be if it didn't take too long.

Speaking of Dungeons, I wonder what I would find inside it, and what should I bring? Back in Yuidora, I had brought only my hammer and a light spear since Yuidora's dungeons are mostly consisted of Dark monsters. Logically speaking, since Orario's dungeon is said to be under the city, then it might be consisting of Dark monsters too.

But I can't risk it. Remembering my mother's words that I shouldn't be careless, I decided then I'll take it the safe way then, with my Omni-Magic spear, and my hammer for those immune to magic. That's practically my thoughts about it.

Next, the armors. I think it would go with the same logic, but the problem is that Omni-Magic armor is probably one risky choice to take. Like Omni spear, Omni armor will also be unstable, but it would be more dangerous since the toll is my life there, I can do with unstable attack, but unstable defense? No sir.

So, I guess for this one, I'll go with the classic semi-heavy armor that I had been using at Yuidora. Not the best choice but the safest. It increased my Defense but since it was semi-heavy, it reduced my speed. Meh, it was already low from the start so I think that's the best bet I could get for now.

After the decision was made, I immediately started to make the two equipments using the materials I have brought. Correction, just one. I can use the Omni spear that I made in front of Goddess Hephaestus, since she decided that I could keep it.

Alright then, let's hit it.

* * *

**-Hestia Familia—**

**-Hestia's PoV-**

"Here's your improvement for today, Bell-_kun_." I said as I gave the parchment to Bell, impressed by his growth. "You're doing very well."

"Thank you, _Kami-sama_." Bell replied happily, with him later became a bit flustered as I began to ruffle his smooth white hair, like a mother being so proud of her son, on this case, it was pretty much spot on. After dinner and some other things, Bell then went to sleep. As I saw him sleeping, I couldn't help but to ponder, while my eyes were still on him.

Looking back, it was just a few days since he joined my Familia, even as a lone member. And yet he had been doing so much for ourselves. His determination was really, really something. His improvement was pretty much outrageously quick. Despite it being due to that Liaris Freese skill, and that's because of his affection to that Wallen-_nanigashi_, thinking about that just made my heart ached, but again his improvement was to be considered above the usual. I mean, even if you discount Liaris Freese, his improvement is pretty much higher than most adventurers.

He really was working hard.

As his Goddess, I was very proud and was very grateful to him. He had done so much, and I thought that I had to be able to reward him somehow. Maybe something that could be very helpful for his future adventures?

But, even if I wanted to, I really have nothing much to spend for one. On the other side of the coin, I felt like this was the right thing to do.

Come to think of it, tomorrow must have been 'that day', right? Maybe, that will mean that I can meet her again, and hopefully, I can get the chance to repay what Bell-_kun_ had done for me.

It won't be fair if it was just Bell-_kun_ who did his hardest. I have to do too!

* * *

**-The Next Day—**

**-3rd Person's PoV-**

"Oi, Alva, you there?" A sound of knocking could be heard from Alva's workshop. Moments later the door finally opened, revealing a blonde-haired girl that looked a bit beaten up, surprising the knocker.

"Uh, captain…"

"You look beat…and it is already this late!" Tsubaki scolded, before registering the good-looking piece of armor standing on one of the tables. "Tell me, Alva, what time did you go to bed last night?"

"I didn't know, to be honest." Alva said.

"Huff…at this rate, it would not be a good decision to go to the Dungeon."

"Ehh? But, I think I can still go!"

However, as she said so, she let out a wide yawn, causing the half-dwarf to snicker.

"Your body said the opposite." Tsubaki said. "Rather than debating on this, you probably should take a bath and get something to eat quickly. Welf has been waiting for you."

"Oh, right." I said.

"Anyway, I'm off. Don't keep Welf waiting for too long, okay." Tsubaki said with a smirk, apparently leaving the blonde and headed to God knows where.

Eventually after such a quick succession of events, Alva managed to find Welf, wearing her semi-heavy armor and her spear was on her back, shocking the redhead.

"Do you really have to wear all of that?"

"Well, I did plan to go to the Dungeon right after the registration." Alva replied, causing Welf to sweatdrop.

"You can always wear that later instead of now." Welf said. "Anyway, the faster we get to the Guild, the better, so let's go then."

The two members of Hephaestus' Familia began to walk through the city street, definitely not hand-in-hand, silently, towards the Guild.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Goddess Hephaestus today, is she in her workshop?"

"Oh, hasn't Tsubaki told you?" Welf asked, confused. "She is currently away for a few days for an errand, and thus Tsubaki would be in charge for those days."

"An errand?"

"Yeah, which I never knew about it." Welf replied. "Anyway, I heard that you made the armor all night long last night."

"Not exactly all night long, but most of the night." Alva replied, chuckling. "Why, are you surprised?"

"Not at all." Welf laughed. "It's very common for us. Even Hephaestus-_sama_ sometimes did that. But again, she didn't need too much sleep anyway since she's a Goddess."

"Ah, duly noted." Alva said. "What about you, Welf?"

"Eh?"

"Have you ever overworked yourself that you forgot to sleep?"

" I would be lying if I said no, but the toll is pretty heavy on me sometimes." Welf replied. Soon, the two reached a building that's pretty much standing out from its surroundings.

"Anyway, here's the Guild building. Let's go inside."

Before going inside, though, Alva stopped outside for a while, observing the building. If she had to note, it looked so big, just like the Alchemist Guild Manor where her family lived. Well that is pretty much expected for the central of the adventurers.

"Oi, don't just stand there. Come on!"

"Ah, sorry!"

The two then proceeded to the guild area, or specifically, the registration counter. In charge at the counter was, coincidentally, the half-elven guild receptionist that most people had known, probably because she was famous herself.

"Hello, What can I help you with?"

"Hello, I'm here to inquire about a registration for a new adventurer." Welf replied, confusing the receptionist.

"But, aren't you an adventurer yourself? I think I saw you a few times before."

"I know, and you're right. This time, however, it would be my fellow Familia member here who wants to register for one." He acknowledged Alva to step closer to him, or actually to the receptionist. "She had just joined Hephaestus' Familia yesterday."

"Oh, alright then. Please wait a second."

The half-elf then rummaged through one of the cupboards and took a piece of paper, or maybe it could better be said as a form, and put it on the counter.

"So, you might want to fill this form. Should I help you step-by-step?"

"Yes please." Alva replied.

"Alright, so, please follow me."

* * *

-**Alva's PoV—**

The half-elf and I made our way to one of the guild rooms. After finely seated, the half-elf started the introduction by introducing herself. It turned out that her name was Eina Tulle, and she was indeed a half-elf. That explains why there are many physical similarities between both of us.

"So, I reckoned that you have joined Hephaestus Familia. So, may we start by asking your name?

"Alvaretta Dion." I replied. "Call me Alva for short."

"Alright, Alva." Eina said, confirming that she's call me with that. "Next, since you have been blessed by Hephaestus-_sama_, you must've gotten a parchment about your stats and skills, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"Did you bring it now?"

"Sure." Whoa, lucky me! Actually I didn't plan to bring this parchment. But again I felt a bit unsafe just to leave it at my workshop and thus I brought it with me.

I handed out the parchment given by Hephaestus-_sama_ to Eina, she had just taken a quick glance on it before suddenly her jaw dropped. I could see very clearly that she was indeed in shock.

"What's wrong, Eina-_san_?"

"Y-You're level 2?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that?"

"Your friend said that you had just joined the Familia yesterday, right?"

"Yup."

"But, every newly-blessed adventurers will always start at level 1, except if you had been given a blessing by a God/Goddess before." Eina explained. "The fact that you're level 2 means that you've been blessed by another God/Goddess before you joined Hephaestus' Familia." Eina said. "Are you?"

"I don't think so." Alva said. "Other than blessings from my human father, which I believe is not a God, I only got blessings from the Angels, as far as I could remember though." Alva said.

"That's pretty weird, though." Eina replied. "Either that means one of the angels blessing you is a God/Goddess, or actually you were blessed by a God/Goddess before you knowing." Eina continued, before another possibility entered her mind. "Did Hephaestus-_sama_ encounter a problem when performing the Falna blessing ritual?"

"Uh…I don't understand…"

"I mean, like, did the ritual…like…stopped midway or something?"

"I'm still confused." I replied. I personally didn't understand why Eina's asking this especially since this question should've been asked to Goddess Hephaestus instead of me. I mean, what I did in the ritual is just sitting with my shirt off, that's all. How should I know more?

"I think it might be better if you asked Goddess Hephaestus herself since I didn't get what you mean." I said. "Though, I don't think it was out of the ordinary for her, though, except the fact that she warned me not to use some of my skills in the dungeon."

"Hmm…" Eina thought for awhile. "You know what, you're probably right, we can discuss it with Hephaestus-_sama_ later on."

Eina then continued to look at the parchment, and then looked at the skills and abilities part, which are showing some of my congenital skills as a half-Archangel (half-Apsael to be exact). Then Eina's eyes widen again.

"Something wrong again?"

"I remembered you said that Hephaestus-_sama_ warned you about not using some of your skills on the Dungeon, is that right?"

"Yes, she did." I replied. "She also said that I should ask you or the Guild, and she said that it was related to the divine powers of the Gods/Goddesses. I didn't understand about that, though.

"Well, how should I put it…" Eina said. "There's an unwritten rule for the Goddess not to use their divine powers, which we called it as "Arcanum". Gods/Goddesses who broke it will be forcefully ascended to Heaven."

"But that's only for Gods/Goddesses, right?"

"I'm not finished yet." Eina interrupted. "I did remember, there's one occasion where a God/Goddess went inside the Dungeon and unwillingly activated their powers, even just for a bit. Then something happened: irregular monsters began to swarm inside that place, and defeated the adventurers with their irregular strength. Since then, Gods and Goddesses are prohibited into the Dungeon due to the fear of the same tragedy happening again." Eina continued. "And since some of your skills here are essentially Holy-based, and your Angel's Blessing transforms you into an angel, she feared that the power might be similar to the divine arcanum, and thus causing the irregular monsters to appear again."

"I see." I replied, seemingly understood the explanation. "That means, all I have to do is to restrain using the angel's blessing and anything related to divine powers, right?"

"Yes, but you see, for your case, it's easier said than done." Eina interjected, looking at me seriously.

"Hm?"

"You might be a level 2 indeed, but to restrain using that blessing will not be that easy. Wait for a moment." Eina left the seat and takes something resembling an encyclopedia, and opened the front pages of it. She then pointed at the subsection: "DARK monsters".

"If you squint here and compare it to the others, you can see the list that most of the monsters in the dungeons are Dark monsters, and I'm afraid that applies to your Dark Bane skill. I knew I don't have to explain this, didn't you?"

"Umm…ah yes, I understand."

That's an easy conclusion. If most of the monsters are Dark, then due to my Dark Bane skill, I'll deal bigger damage, but at the same time will receive bigger damage too. Since I can't turn into Angel form because of that incident, that means I have to deal with the fact that most monsters will do higher damage on me.

"If you're reckless, you'll get drained of your HP and at that time, your Angel's Blessing will activate, and you know what might happen after that."

"That's a pretty deep thought, but reasonable nonetheless." I replied, trying to assure her that it would be alright. However, it didn't seem to work either. She was so stubborn about this fact. "I'll do my best not to let you down."

"Why am I not convinced…" Eina mumbled. "Oh well, I shouldn't actually explain everything about the Dungeon or anything related to it for a seasoned adventurer, but despite being level 2, you had never known about Orario Dungeon, hadn't you?"

"Sad to say, but that's true."

"Well then, before you went into the dungeon, let me explain about the Orario Dungeon and all you must know about it."

And go with it she did.

* * *

Merely three to four hours later, and a short break in between, she finally ended her explanation.

Gosh, I can't believe that it would take that long for an explanation about this Orario Dungeon. She was really pushing it to the detail, and the fact that I lacked decent sleep last night didn't help at all. What's more, she looked extremely stern too for a receptionist, or rather I should say, more like an advisor, since she gave a little bit too many of them. I wonder why she acted like this. I mean, a normal advisor will not act like this without a specific reason. But I guess it won't be polite to directly ask about it so I restrain myself from asking.

And by the time she had finished, it might be a little bit too late for going to the dungeon, well, except if I wanted to go there at night, which will eventually earn some gold-valued scolding from the same advisor and additionally from Tsubaki as well.

"And to finish off, despite you being level 2, I'll only permit you to take on the first five levels of the Dungeon first, and see how it did. Normally level 2 adventurers can take on floor 6 until around 10, but since you're new here, and with that restriction "blessed" upon you, I suggest adapting yourself at the upper floors first." Eina replied. "You understand?"

"Yes."

"Anyway, every new adventurer will be given a stipend from the guild in form of basic adventuring gears, but it seems like you had brought yourself some gears, I see." Eina said. "Did you create it yourself?"

"Yep, last night."

"Last night, for those gears?" Eina said, dumbfounded. "No wonder you looked beat when I was explaining."

'Why do I feel I have heard this one before.' I thought.

"Anyway, I'll keep this parchment and form, and despite the fact that you have brought your own gears, we still need to give you the stipend as a token of registration. Therefore, we'll be going onto our designated weapon shop. Please follow me."

I then followed her to the designated weapon shop, which I believe is for the rookies, located in a structure called Babel. That's what I think when I entered the shop. The quality of the armors and weapons are not bad, but not good enough either, at least it looked strong enough for new adventurers, though. Paying for the armor and weapon (just a classic spear and breastplate for me) as a form of registration fee, we went back to the Guild building and I finally called it a day and said goodbye to Eina. As I exited the Guild building, I saw Welf waiting outside the building, surprising me for a while.

"Welf?"

"Ah, there you are, Alva." Welf said as he recognized that I'm carrying the rookie store-bought armor and spear. "Well, looking at those rookie weapons, seems like you finally had registered yourself as an adventurer, eh?"

"Yeah, you're right." I said. "But, if you're here, don't tell me you've been waiting for me despite it taking very long?"

"Well, not exactly." He snickered. "When I realized that you're entering the room with Eina, I knew it would take very long and thus I decided to leave for a while."

"So you knew that it would take very long?" I glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Why should I?" He smirked.

"Muu...you're evil, Welf!" I said, lightly punching his shoulders while he just laughed.

"Haha…sorry, sorry." Welf said. "Well, let me make it up for you then, you didn't have any plans, don't you?"

I paused for a while. "I do plan to go to the Dungeon, but it's pretty late already."

"Then, let's head to Hostess of Fertility then, I bet Tsubaki's already waiting there too."

Hearing that sentence made me glare at him again. "If captain was already there too, don't tell me, not only you, but she also did know about this?"

"Pretty much."

"You two really are mean!" I pouted while Welf just giggled.

Thus, it's decided that I won't go to the Dungeon today, and I believe this would be another visit to Hostess of Fertility. I wonder how Mama Mia and the others are doing, though.

* * *

**A/N: I guess that's about it? Sorry for taking so long, I've got a little sudden business to take care and I'm taking some time for my other stories and some rest. **

**And yeah, I might make Welf and Tsubaki a bit OOC here, Welf's a bit more playful and so do Tsubaki. **

**Next chapter will cover a little interaction in HoF and also the first day in the Dungeon, and possibly also the Banquet of the Gods too. That means we'll probably be covering Monsterphilia on chapter 6.**

**And starting the week after next week, the updates will be extremely slow because my holiday break will be over. That means three advanced homeworks every week and pressures every day, I don't know if I can find time to update. But I'll try my best to complete this story, which I believe might cover around 20-30 chapters or even more.**

**Please R&R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	6. First Day in the Dungeon

**A/N: Happy New Year 2020, Everybody! Thanks for the favs/follows! I'm really honored. **

**Here's the new chapter, and the first for this year. I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense, bland, or boring. I'll accept the feedbacks as long as they are not flames.**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 5: First Day in the Dungeon**

* * *

The two members of Hephaestus' Familia proceeded towards the Hostess of Fertility. Alva still retained her pout throughout the way, still couldn't perceive the fact that Welf and Tsubaki were really mean enough not to tell her about that several-hour long encounter with the adventurer advisor.

"Cheer up, Alva. Look at it in the positive way, at least now you know what to do and what not to do while you're venturing the Dungeon." Welf said, patting Alva's shoulder.

Alva just rolled her eyes. He was right about that, but again, hours of lecture on a specific topic was just a bit too much for her. It's pretty much more unbearable than a strict lecture from her mother.

It didn't take them long enough to finally arrive at Hostess of Fertility. Fresh memories of the first day of her adventure was gushing up inside Alva's head.

"_Irasshaimase!_" This time the sound was pretty deep and soft instead of cheerful like her first visit. But the sound was very familiar to the half-archangel, and probably also the redhead human.

"Ah! Ryuu-_san_!" Alva exclaimed, waving her hand to the said elf. She held the urge to shake Ryuu's hand due to the popular belief about elves, that's for sure."

"Ah, Alva, nice to meet you again." Ryuu smiled. "Ah, that man beside you, that must be from the Hephaestus' Familia, am I right?"

"Yes, but how do you know?" Welf asked.

"Alva did say to us that she wanted to join that Familia. Hence the claim." Ryuu replied. "Does that mean you have been accepted into Hephaestus' Familia?"

Alva nodded in contention.

"_Omedetou gozaimasu_." Ryuu replied softly. "Anyway, table for two?"

"Actually, someone's already waiting for us inside." Welf replied in Alva's stead. "A half-dwarf with an eyepatch."

"Oh, she's at that table over there." Ryuu replied, pointing at one of the tables. Indeed, on one of the chairs of the table set sat Tsubaki, who hadn't noticed that her fellow familia members had just come.

"Ah, right, there she is. Alright then, we'll be heading there." Welf said.

Alva and Welf then made their way to Tsubaki's table, without actually saying anything, letting their motions do the greeting to the half-dwarf.

"Oi, you made it alright." Tsubaki sneered. "So, how was your day, Alva?"

Instantly, Alva's face formed a pout. She knew what Tsubaki had meant and she was still "pretty mad" at her for that.

"What do you think? Why don't you tell me that the advisor will lecture me for hours?"

"Well, you're just unfortunate." Tsubaki replied. "Eina Tulle is practically the only advisor who'll be giving that hours-worth of lecture."

"Then why did we go and register with her, Welf?"

"Well, just as Tsubaki had said, it was just unfortunate for you, I mean, she was in charge at that time and the others looked pretty busy." Welf replied, snickering.

"Somehow, I didn't feel convinced…" Alva replied, before eventually decided to forget about it. After all, it had been done and there's nothing she could do to change it. Let's just hope that she won't be attending that kind of lectures in the future…

The group fell silent for a while due to each of the members thinking about what they wanted to order. Apparently after they decided, Tsubaki called for the waitress to come, and turned out that this time it was Syr who took their orders.

"Alright, three of today's special, two glasses of beer and one glass of mixed fruit juice. Got it." Syr said, repeating their order. "Anyway, Alva, how is your wound on your stomach?"

Welf and Tsubaki was a bit surprised at the question. That's common sense, considering that they didn't know about it despite her being in the same Familia. But what made them extremely confused is that, how could a waitress of Hostess of Fertility know about it? And moreover, how did Syr and Ryuu know Alva?

"It's healing fast. Now it wasn't too painful anymore. I really thank you for your aid, Syr-_san_."

"_Yokatta-desu_." Syr smiled. "Though, it was pretty much Ryuu who deserves more of your thanks."

'And vice-versa was said by Ryuu, this two are just too softhearted.' Alva thought.

"Anyway, I'll bring the food when it's ready. See you around!" With that, Syr went onto the kitchen area, and as she did so, Welf and Tsubaki turned to the blonde newbie.

"You know the waitresses here?" Welf asked

"Scratch that, how did she know about you having a wound on your stomach? You never told us!" Tsubaki said.

The two stares were so intense that Alva was taken aback for a moment, before eventually she gave up and told them everything, minus the angel transformation.

* * *

"I see…that's very unfortunate, indeed." Welf said, showing a little sympathy. "If that elf waitress didn't find you, then you'll be done for sure."

"Please don't remind me…but you're right." Alva said.

"But then, that elf surely is powerful to rescue you from the five thugs." Tsubaki said.

"Well, you told me…"

"Anyway, all's well that ends well, eh? You really should be thankful to both of the waitresses, and also Mama Mia for that." Tsubaki said.

"I already did." Alva told them. "And yet, Ryuu said that Syr is the one deserving for my thanks, and you saw it yourself how Syr have thought, right?"

The three giggled.

"Anyhow, now that you're registered in the Guild, you're going to tackle the dungeon as soon as possible, aren't you?" Tsubaki changed the topic. "Well, I guess Welf can accompany you, tomorrow."

"How do you even know that I am not busy tomorrow?" Welf asked, surprised. "And no, I am busy, I had some request-in-progress still stuck in my room, and I have to finish it."

"Are you sure about that?" Tsubaki smirked. "I don't remember you having a contract yet. And are you sure you're just going to let a beautiful girl venturing the dungeon alone on her first day? You're terrible, you know."

"Oh, shut up." Welf said.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'll try venturing the dungeon by myself for tomorrow. I'm not planning to go deep anyway." Alva remarked.

"You sure? How deep are you planning to go in?"

Alva shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, probably around floor 5. I just wanted to adapt and familiarize myself with the Dungeon first. Eina told me not to go beyond that floor yet, to cite the fact."

"Well, she's so thoughtful, at least that hours of lecture were worth it." Welf snickered.

"Don't…remind…me…"

"Here's your meal." Syr suddenly came with a big tray of food. And thus, the time went uneventfully as they just ate, paid for the food and finally went back to their mansion.

* * *

**-At the same time, Loki Familia—**

"Riveria, I got what you asked for." Riveria, who was still reading at Loki's room, heard her goddess called for her. She turned to see Loki, holding a book that seemed pretty antique, an actually bizarre thing to see since it's a bit unusual to relate Loki with books rather than booze.

But well, she IS a goddess after all, she had to have some heavenly knowledge and responsibility in her.

"Seriously, I didn't know why you're so interested in that girl, I mean, it might be just a random adventurer, right?"

"Maybe you're right, but," Riveria paused for a moment. "Sometimes if there's something new or unusual, it might be wise to eventually learn about it."

"The way you say that and the fact that she didn't even know you just makes you more like a stalker/admirer, you know." Loki said. "But, I think I could understand your curiosity for this time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that girl is very unusual, or rather, her race is one of them." Loki then opened the book and revealed what she had seen to Riveria. "Half-Angels, consists mainly of half-archangels, this race is pretty much hard to find."

"Half-Angels? Does that mean she was born from an Angel and any other race?"

"Yup." Loki replied. "And looking at how close she resembles to a human, I can hazard a guess that she's born from an angel and a human."

"That's interesting." Riveria mumbled. "But, how come that her race is rare? I mean, even half-elves are plenty in our world.

"The reason is practically because of what had been our reason of this 'research'." Loki smirked.

Riveria gasped in realization. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes…"

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door, and after letting him in, it turned out to be Finn Deimne. "Oh, Riveria, you're here too."

"I thought you might as well notice from the start…." Riveria sighed. "So, why are you here?"

"I just want to discuss about our future expedition plans for the lower levels…" Finn's eyes caught on the bizarre book on Loki's desk. "But, I guess you were all busy discussing something. So I think I'll wait…"

"Actually, Finn, since you're our captain and also a high-class adventurer too, I think you might be interested in our discussion too." Loki offered.

"Oh…what are you discussing, actually?"

Loki smirked. "Apparently a newcomer had attracted Riveria's curiosity, and thus we're discussing on how to cure her…"

Riveria started to take out her staff while glaring at her goddess.

"…I mean to find the truth." Loki sweatdropped.

"Oh, a newcomer, huh?" Finn smiled.

With that, Finn took a seat and the discussion continues. "So, what makes you curious about this newcomer, Riveria?"

"Well, aside the fact that she's not very strong, it was her aura that reeled it."

"Aura?" Finn was dumbfounded. "Eh right, Riveria, being high-level can detect it of course. But, what's with the aura?"

"She's surprised because she found an aura that is similar to mine coming out from this newcomer." Loki interjected. "It would be better if we continued with the explanation anyway, so where are we?"

"Half-angels and their rarity." Riveria answered. "Why are they rare to find, and what's the relation with divine powers?"

"Okay, you see, divine powers are very powerful, pure, and yet fragile." Loki replied. "You know what happened a few years ago in the dungeon, when a God suddenly releases the divine power there?"

Finn frowned. "Uh, I tried not to remember that again."

"Yes, but my point is on my third property: Fragile." Loki said. "Angels, much like us Gods and Goddesses, have divine powers. Their power, however, varies from their Ranks. Rank 1 Angels, called Seraphim, have a very powerful divine powers that sometimes almost matches one that Gods/Goddesses have. However, their powers are also the most fragile, as a little dose of corruption could reverse their divine powers to the divine chaos, which most people knew by Fallen Angels." Loki replied.

"Yeah, I have heard of that." Riveria replied

"Then there were Rank 2, Rank 3, and so on until Rank 9 Angels, the lower the "Rank", the lower their powers are, but they are more resistant to corruption." Loki continued. "Half-Angels can only be born from a low-ranked angel, i.e. Rank 7 or lower, and that's even after the angels agree to proceed on some sort of rituals that compromises their divine powers. Rank 6 or higher angels performing this ritual can have a very high risk of turning into fallen angels, while Rank 7 or lower angels performing this ritual will lose a large amount of their divine power, although they might still have their power and divinity as an Angel. That's why half-angels are rare, since not many angels want to take this risk."

"I see." Riveria said. "So now we know that one of the newcomer's parents is a low-ranked angel."

"That's pretty much it." Loki replied. "But, now you know who she might be, what did you plan to do with her? I doubt that she even knew you from the start."

"I never planned to do anything." Riveria said. "Besides, you didn't feel anything wrong when we're having a party in the bar, did you, Finn?"

"No, I didn't sense anything wrong, my thumb's not flinching." Finn said. "Why did you ask that?"

"Because we met the girl back then, right after we restrained Bete for being drunk." Riveria said.

"Oh, so that's why." Finn replied. "Well, the fact that I didn't feel it means that she's not hostile, and to be honest, this is probably the first time we have this kind of discussion without actually having any plans other than satisfying someone's curiosity."

"Hmph…" Riveria glared at the said pallum, causing the others to laugh. "Anyway, unless we had another chance encounter with her, I think I'll stop the discussion here." Loki offered. "So, Finn, about the expedition, what do you want to tell me?"

"Well…"

* * *

**-The Next Day—**

**-Alva's PoV—**

Learning from what happened yesterday, that I almost skipped my sleep and felt drowsy most of the time, I decided to take an early rest last night, not working on any weapons or armors since I have made them the night before. A deep sleep, I must say, that I was undisturbed and finally got up pretty early this morning.

I got up, readied myself, with my armor, my spear and an empty sack on my back. Before I went out, I checked my equipment once more, and their effects to ensure nothing is wrong.

* * *

**Classic Armor**

**Durability: 571/571**

**P. DEF: 67**

**M. DEF: 58**

**Abilities:**

**-Basic Endurance I: END +15**

* * *

**Omni Spear (Null Spear)**

**Durability: 725/725**

**P. ATK: 64**

**M. ATK: 112**

**Abilities:**

**-Omni Element: Ignores Elemental Resists of the attack target, but unable to deal armor penetration.**

**-Stability 40%: Gross Damage dealt ranges from 40% to 100% of fixed Damage**

_**(Explanation and Example: If an attack has a fixed damage of 140, then when Alva launches this attack, the damage will be around 56-140 (before calculating Defense and Resists)**_**)**

**-Magic: Void Railgun: Low Omni/Null on an enemy, low chance to penetrate and damage the enemy behind it. MP Cost: Low.**

* * *

I frowned for a while. Bringing Omni weapons are sometimes really a pain in the neck. The stability turned out to be less than half, meaning there's a chance that my attack will deal less than half of the supposed damage. But well, there's nothing I could do right now, it'll take longer time to reforge it, anyway.

Thus, after taking my breakfast and lunch with me, I decided to venture the dungeon.

Moments later, I arrived at what I believe to be the first level of the dungeon. I could see some adventurers are combating some kind of monsters on a certain spot, and by Eina's lecture, I decided to ignore them and tried to find another empty spot.

Luckily, I got one, despite it being narrow, but there were plenty of monsters, which I believe, were goblins, the weakest of all monsters. Spear in hand, I put up my stance, actually a defensive stance instead of an offensive one, and waited for them to come closer.

Yeah, it's annoying to know, really, but my strategy of combat back in Yuidora, too, was a defensive strategy, because at that time, I tanked most of the damage and my brothers and sisters were the ones engaging in offense.

But well, this time I was alone, so I don't think I can stay on defensive all the time, but for now, just go with the flow.

To my amusement, the pack of goblins spotted me and began to march onto me, just like how I hoped they did. Having longer combat range thanks to my weapon of choice, I timed my swing and pierced one of them lethally when they were close enough, without them actually able to reach me. One of them was done with just one stab, but then, we're talking about goblins and the fact that I am a Level 2, it would be weird if I weren't able to kill the lowest level monsters in just one blow. Even the Level 1 adventurers with low strength amount can actually do it.

After that, I immediately rout the rest of the goblins, but not before taking some very minor injuries on my part. It might be humiliating, but even according to my stats, my weakest point is in my Agility, meaning that my movements are pretty slow, but I have a high Endurance to back it up. That's why despite the goblins were able to deal some damage to me, it didn't even hurt.

After the elimination, I looked to see that the goblins were decaying, and on their place now lied a few pieces of stones. From that lecture, I could make out these stones as those everyone called "magic stones" that can be exchanged for Valis at the guild.

Feeling confident on my first trial at the first floor, I didn't stay there for long as I decided to go to the second floor, where another type of monster was waiting for me. This time is a dog (or wolf)-like creature called Kobold. I put up a stance, waiting for them to charge at me.

This time, however, they didn't just go and charge, instead they were waiting for something. It took me a little confusion before realizing that actually one of them were sneaking at my back.

For a pack of higher-floor monsters, this one was pretty cunning, I must say.

I turned back as quickly as I can, and luckily pierced it before it reaches my back, barely since even my fast turn was still pretty slow. Thankfully with that clean pierce, it was knocked out (I don't know if I had killed it or not), and my focus could be turned onto the remaining pack.

Looking at how good they are with stealth attacks; I knew I can't just let my guard down. And with my limited speed, it would be unwise to let them too near as well, so I think I'll try that for once.

Positioning my spear in a stance like I'm going for a charged pierce, I charged my spear with my magic power, and thrusted forward…

"Void Railgun!"

(_Yup, this one is a no-chant magic, but she needs to wield this particular spear to use it, that means the magic will fail if the spear falls off her hand)_

The tip of the spear glowed in a blurry manner before I swing it forward, releasing a shock energy at that direction, like a projectile or an arrow, towards the Kobold in front of me, killing it in an instant, but the kobold behind it does not even flinch.

"No luck, huh." I sighed. "Well, at least I got one down, but even with low MP cost, this magic is exhaustive enough. At this point, Eina was right to limit my venturing despite of my level.

It took me quite long for me to adapt myself with the Kobolds, despite them being one of the easiest monsters available. I mean, it's easy for me to kill them, my attacks and magic dealt high enough damage. The problem came in the form of understanding attack patterns, their monsterly strategies, and many others like that. I didn't actually realize that I already killed hundreds of them, since I lost count and actually lost track of the time.

As I proceeded lower, I felt a little exhaustion coming. Apparently, I've been using enough MP to land void railguns multiple times that I can't deal much more. Encountering enough goblins and kobolds, racking hefty sum of magic stones (according to me at least), I was greeted by another type of monsters, looking like lizards. Having been exhausted, I can't inject another Void Railgun stance, and instead relied on physical attacks.

I have to admit, either this lizard monster was stronger than the two other monsters I encountered, or I'm already at my limit. Their movements were a little bit more agile, and they also attacked in packs, sending me back into defensive stance many times. Despite the fact that I managed to slay some of them, but the lack of stamina and exhaustion in my part just restricted me in defense as I begin to endure more of their attacks. As I felt pain began to rush out, I kept forcing myself in defense, hoping that my HP didn't go too low and forcing me into Angel Form.

At one point, though.

*Slash*

The pack of lizard pinning me on the defensive stance was dumbfounded as one of them fell onto a slash, turning their attention to their new attacker. With that said, I took advantage and pierced one of them from behind, and elbowed another one with my armor piece. The new attacker also put up a stance and slashed more of the pack, and after around ten minutes, the pack was eliminated and magic stones were scattered on the dungeon floor. I turned to the new attacker and spotted something very familiar from him. White messy hair, red eyes, pale skin…

This guy indeed was the one bumping onto me during my journey towards Hephaestus Familia's mansion. He wore a kind of light armor and a classic rookie knife, which according to my examination, was fitting for a speed-type attacker.

"_Daijoubu ka?_" I heard him asking me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to kill-steal the monsters, but it's just like you looked like in trouble…"

"Haha…it's okay. I'm fine. In fact, your hunch is just right, I was put on the defensive there because I was pretty much exhausted. I'm really grateful for your help." I replied softly. "By the way, I think we have met before, haven't we?"

"Um…" the guy tried to remember, before he did realize about what I mean. "Oh, right, I think I bumped onto you when I was en route to the Guild! I'm really sorry back then."

"Hey, don't be like that. You know that's not your fault." I said. "Anyway, thanks for the help again, er, may I know your name?"

"Bell, Bell Cranel." The boy replied. "You're welcome too, miss…er…"

"Ah, right, I'm Alvaretta Dion, Alva in short. Nice to meet you, Cranel-_san_."

"Nice to meet you too, Alva-_san_." Bell replied. "Anyway, are you going for deeper levels after this?"

I originally wanted to, but looking at how they cornered me because of my exhaustion, I decided that it would be wise to call it a day.

"I think I won't, the fact that I struggled against those monsters would mean that I am already exhausted enough, so I'll be returning to the surface." I replied. "See you next time, Cranel-_san_."

"Ah right, see you later!"

And that concludes my first day at the dungeon. Well, to be honest, I never expected myself to be exhausted that easily.

Unless…

When I returned to the surface, the sky was already darkened, the sun was just setting.

"Really now?" I sighed…that means I already spent around eight to nine hours in the dungeon, that's unthinkable even by my standards. That made sense if I would be exhausted, damn it.

For a first time, this one's already over my capacity. So I guess, I have to rethink my plans in the future. I'm lucky that Bell Cranel helped me at the last time, who knows what'll happen in the future if he wasn't there, and I was defensively forced like before.

Welp, at least I did great, and next stop, the Guild Building!

* * *

**And that's it. Hopefully I didn't make her a bit too OP with the addition of no chant magic.**

**So I'll explain a little about Alva's various no-chant magic. Apart from the magic and skills gained in a Falna, her weapons and armors could also be enchanted with skills and magic too, but always with a drawback as well. For instance, the omni spear above has a no-chant omni magic infused inside, but it was very unstable (40%) and is admittedly weak: it was only single-target with low chance of multi-target piercing. And just like I stated, the magic will fail if the weapon is disarmed. The same might go to another spears and armors she made, but the skills and drawbacks may vary.**

**I'm restraining her so that she won't be OP, but at the same time she wasn't too weak as well. Hopefully this still made sense.**

**Next chapter will cover the continuation, including the Deities Banquet. This will be altered pretty badly since Hephaestus will eventually need to discuss about Alva, and if you saw above, Loki had also got a little information about Alva's race background. There might be more than just Hestia and Hephaestus' deal. What will happen? Well, coming up next in … uh, I should really stop doing this kind of outro.**

**Please R&R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	7. Deities' Banquet

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'd been suffering a heavy slump and writers' block, and the homeworks were killing me. Even now, I'm very tired that I haven't had the power to proofread this. **

**Anyway, thanks to Shin Hyo Joon for the review. And glad to know that I'm not confusing you on the narration. I hope I could do my best continually.**

**Here's the chapter!**

**Chapter 6: Deities' Banquet**

* * *

"I swear, I really don't get it." A furious sound, accompanied by a glare, was spoken out from the half-elven advisor from the Guild. "I knew you're a Level 2, but, you're just as reckless as him!"

"I know, I'm sorry, Eina-_san_." I said.

So apparently after all things that occurred, I walked my way onto the Guild Building, slow and steady, since I had been having lack of stamina left thanks of the overexertion in the Dungeon. The streets had been quite sparse too, meaning that, since it was pretty late, I was apparently coming back much later than normal adventurers.

But then, there's Bell Cranel…he's still venturing the dungeon despite the lateness of the time right now. Though, I shouldn't bring him up, it's his choice after all.

When I arrived, Eina noticed the lack of stamina in my body, and was filled with concern. But then the concern changed into fury as I told her what happened.

"You know what, sorry is not enough. But I'll let it slide for now, on some conditions!" Eina continued. "Because of this, I will not raise the floor cap for the next few days until you know how to handle your stamina. Secondly, you're in a real need of a party. You're lucky that Bell had saved you, who knows what'll happen in the future."

I just nodded in guilt. No matter how you saw it, she was right, it was a practical coincidence that Bell Cranel had come to my rescue at that time, whilst we hadn't known each other pretty well. It didn't help that I stayed in the Dungeon for too long as well.

I tried my best not to tell her about where Cranel-_san_ was, or rather, what he planned. But, knowing that he is under Eina's guidance, and all that happened, I could guess that this would not go unnoticed.

"Where's Bell right now?"

…

See?

"That boy is pretty much like you…I wouldn't be surprised if he was still in the dungeon, and trying to go lower than my floor cap…and he'll be sorry when he's back."

"A-ahahaha…" I sweatdropped. Poor Bell Cranel, you shouldn't go back to the guild building for the time being…

"If you meet him again, please bring him with you and meet me immediately."

…I'll try not to comment about that, and I'll try not to think what will happen to our unlucky boy…

* * *

-Meanwhile, Deities' Banquet—

It was, practically, a very crowded and elegant occasion in a certain place. Food and beverages, decorations, and a calming sensation blended together in a banquet with such lovely setting.

Amidst the party, one short-statured, kiddy-faced but sickeningly-developed figure could be seen on one of the food stalls, munching a bunch of what could be seen as dumplings, and by a bunch, we could actually say like 'an enormous bunch' of it.

"Nom…nom…nom…"

"_Ara…_good evening, Hestia!" A soft, feminine yet alluring sound could be heard behind the said figure. With that specific description of sound, Hestia knew whose sound that is. So she just turned to see a figure with dangerously-revealing outfit, with greyish hair and an alluring aura surrounding her. Hestia just frowned as she registered the new figure behind her.

"Freya…" Hestia said bitterly.

"You seemed like enjoying yourself. Am I interrupting?" Freya asked with the similar tone.

"No, I just don't like dealing with you."

"Haha, blunt as always, but that's what I love about you." Freya chuckled.

"Well, at least I'm still okay with you instead of…"

"Hey, Freya! Shrimp!" Suddenly a mischievous loud voice interrupted her, and well, speak of the devil, both Goddesses knew who is coming, and the frown and bitterness that is visible on Hestia seemed to deepen.

"Oh, Loki." Freya greeted the new figure joining them, a red-haired Goddess with slanted eyes, wearing black dress that covered her (sorry) underdeveloped body.

But well, it's not like she could start a conflict right away, rather than that, she's having something in mind that she needed to ask the Goddess of Mischief.

"Great timing, Loki, I apparently want to ask you something."

"Oh, that's something coming from you, shrimp." Loki was a bit dumbfounded. "What do you want to ask?"

"About your familia's Sword Princess, Wallen-whatsit…is she seeing anybody?"

That question shocked Loki, and also boiled her up, knowing that she's asking about one of her favorite member of her Familia.

"Idiot, Ais is my favorite, I'd rip anyone who went after her."

"Tch…" Hestia was pissed off…not only she found it rude, but there's something that actually hit home, or rather, near to home.

"_Ara_, you two are such great friends." Freya teased, trying to cool down the tension between the two goddesses.

"WE ARE NOT!"

"Hahaha.." Freya chuckled. "Anyway, Loki, it may be a little late for this, but, it's just me…or I think I haven't seen you in a dress in forever!"

"Well, not that surprising though." Loki replied. "I happened to hear that a certain shrimp was coming to the feast, and so I decided to rub a little laugh at the poor goddess who can't even afford to buy a dress."

Hestia fumed at this, but she just knew how to respond against that.

"Well, that's hilarious. I know you came to laugh at me, without knowing that everybody's going to be laughing at you, especially with that cutting board."

"Cutting board?" Loki was confused.

"Yes." Hestia pointed at Loki's chest. "That cutting board!"

"Aaaaagh!" Loki exclaimed, before turning at the twintailed Goddess and grabbed her by her cheeks.

"Umuygumugyhh!"

"That's what you get, shrimp! THAT's WHAT YOU GET!"

The other Gods and Goddesses witnessing that just laughed at the two's 'friendly' antics. In the end, everyone just laughed at BOTH of them…how ironic…

"Geez, I'll let you off with that for today." Loki grumbled.

"Next time we meet, don't let me see those tiny things!" Hestia was adding oil to the fire.

"_Urusai!_"

"Haha…you guys were at it again, don't you…" another sound suddenly entered the fray, startling the two Goddesses and incidentally Goddess Freya, who was with them at the commotion.

"Hephaestus! I'm so glad! Just the person I really wanted to see!" Hestia said. Seeing that Hestia had just redirected her focus on another goddess, Loki decided to go somewhere else.

"See me?" Hephaestus was surprised, she didn't actually expect that, but when she registered who actually said this, her face was suddenly changed into something of the angered one. "Listen, Hestia, I'm not lending you even one more valis, okay."

"That's rude! Do I look like one who'd treat her friends like walking piggybanks?"

"Whatever, you know how we see you. You remember, when we kicked you out, you came back crying and saying that you had no money, house, or job. And of course I'm going to think about that."

"Gaaah…Yeah, I admit, that's how things used to be, sure. But things are different now. I have a familia now too!"

"That's right, Bell, wasn't it, that boy with white hair and red eyes? Well, a lot of deities change once they have a familia, but…"

"Hephaestus, Hestia, I'll be leaving." Freya suddenly interrupted them.

"Eh, already?" Hephaestus asked.

"Yup, there's something I wanted to check up on."

"Eh?"

"And I've already had all the fun I wanted with all the men here."

The two other goddesses just rolled their eyes.

"Anyway, goodbye, both of you." Freya said, leaving the two Goddess on their own business.

"So, if I had to say, I actually wanted to see you to discuss about something."

"This is not another rambling about one of your favorite children again, right?" Hestia said.

"Haha, I just knew you want to say that, but it's not about him, although it was half-right, it's about another child of mine." Hephaestus said. "If you don't mind, can I talk with you about her here?"

"As long as it wouldn't take too long, then fine." Hestia replied curtly.

"Don't worry, it won't be as long as you begging for Valis."

"Dang it, Hephaestus."

"Fine, sometimes I have to crack up." Hephaestus smiled, before turning serious again. "Say, Hestia, have you heard about Half-Angels?"

"Half-Angels?" Hestia asked, confused. "That's one uncommon thing to discuss about. Why did you suddenly want to discuss about this?"

-.-

"Eh, you're joking, right?" Hestia asked, surprised by Hephaestus' explanation. "I have heard a rumor that you managed to recruit another child, but she was a Half-Angel?"

"Well, that's what she said. It was practically unbelievable at first, even I was utterly surprised when I first saw her."

"Oh, Half-Angels, I think this might be interesting." Suddenly a familiar figure entered their discussion. For one of them, it was not what she wanted to expect.

"Loki…again…"

"Tell me, Hephaestus, does this Half-Angel a young female, have long blonde-hair and have brown eyes?"

That surprises the other red-haired Goddess as well.

"Yes, but, how do you know, Loki?"

"We actually had met her once in the bar." Loki said. "It seems like Riveria took interest in her so we actually tried to find as much information about her. But then since we never knew about her being in a Familia or being an adventurer or not, we ended up finding information about half-Angels in general instead." Loki paused for a moment. "Never actually I knew that this girl is in your Familia, Hephaestus."

"Well, very recently, even I was surprised about it myself." Hephaestus said. "Though, I'm trying to discuss this because I'm just worried."

"Let me guess, is this about the divine arcanum that is hidden in her?" Loki added.

"Eeeeh? You're kidding me, flatty!" Hestia was eventually surprised.

"Stop with the flatty, shrimp. And no, I'm not kidding." Loki said. "The reason why Riveria took interest with this girl is also because of that."

"Yeah, you're practically right, Loki." Hephaestus added. "That's why, especially since she wanted to venture the Dungeon as well, I'm just a bit nervous about what happened years ago including one of us in the Dungeon."

"Eh, years ago, what actually happened?" Hestia asked.

"You haven't descended yet, shrimp, and ugh, not going to remember about that." Loki frowned. "Even then, according to what I found, half-Angels' arcanum was far weaker than Gods or Goddesses, so I don't actually think it would be that dangerous."

"You said it, but no one had confirmed about it, right?" Hephaestus said. "I already asked her not to use her angel powers in the Dungeon just to prevent the same from happening, but that didn't eventually solve the problem, did you think?"

"I know." Loki said. "Well if things came to the worse, I would know some of my familia would try to help."

"Woah, that's new coming from you, flatty."

"_Urusai_, shrimp!"

"Well, I just hope nothing is wrong, though." Hestia said, ignoring the flat-chested Goddess that is still fuming at the insults.

"Well, I really appreciate it, both of you." Hephaestus said. "Anyway, since you're saying that you wanted to see me too, I would like to know what you want to say." Her face now changed into an angered one. "Depending on what you're saying, there's a chance that I'm not going to say anything to you again."

"I…I know…Actually…" Hestia was nervous, but she had to say it.

"I want you to make a weapon for Bell."

…If Hephaestus was being blunt and keeping her words, she knew she actually could decide that she's going to refrain saying anything to her again. This one is also one thing she didn't want to hear. Knowing Hestia and her condition, that is equal to lending her a big amount of Valis.

But she knew this is rather different, or at least, she suspected as such. She knew she had to discuss this even further with the said Goddess.

"We'll discuss this further at my workshop."

* * *

-The next day-

"Slash!"

With one agile movement, a pack of lizard monsters were sent to the realm of the dead, leaving nothing but magic stones on the way. The figure then took the stones and put it inside his pouch.

"All of a day's work, I guess." He said as he put his hands on his white fluffy hair that hanged in front of his forehead, wiping the forehead out of sweat, marking the fact that he had done an impressive workout for the day, and hence the job too if one looked at his pouch.

"Well, it would be nice if I stop here for now and go home. I wonder if Goddess has come home."

As he made his way out however, he could see an unusual sight in front of him. If his sight hadn't fooled him, then he would have just seen a few adventurers carrying monsters in cages, up from the dungeon to the surface.

And if his hearing hadn't lied to him too, he would have heard a little hints on what might be going on.

"Can't believe it's that time of day again." A faint voice said.

"Yep, Monsterphilia." Another soft voice said.

Not suspecting anything, Bell decided to go back. Of course, his first destination would be the Guild building, for exchanging the magic stones gained from the exploration. On the way, though…

"Ah! Cranel-_san_!" He turned to see Alva, who was still clad in her equipment. One could say that she had just finished her dungeon exploration too.

"Alva-_san_, nice to see you again!" Bell replied.

"Nice to see you too." Alva replied, "From the Dungeon?"

"Yes, as usual." Bell sneered.

"So, you are en route to the Guild building, aren't you?"

"Of course." Bell said. "Are you going there too?"

"Yes, apparently, but actually I was going to say that Eina-_san_ wanted to meet you. I don't know why though."

"Eina-_san_? Well, I'll go meet her right now then." Bell replied.

"I'll come with you."

And thus, Bell and Alva decided to walk towards the Guild.

-.-

* * *

-Hephaestus' Familia Manor—

"Clang! Clang!"

Sounds of hammering and tempering had always marked the scenes inside the manor of Hephaestus' Familia. Majority of the members had their workshops there, and, despite the soundproof walls, the sounds will forever be etched as the melody of the Forge.

In one of the workshops, one red-haired boy had just finished his weapon, and made up his mind to take a rest. But his empty stomach prevented him so, and thus he exited his room and walked towards the living room. He was not expecting anyone, knowing too well that everyone would be busy with their own business. He would just search a little snack at the kitchen, and take a little rest at the living room, silently.

Thus, he wouldn't expect anyone, especially his captain, to suddenly do the same at the living room.

"Tsubaki?"

"Yo, Welf! It's been a while since you come out from holing inside your workshop." Tsubaki said. "You looked beat. How much rest are you taking recently?"

"That's not your concern." He said with a low voice.

"Ouch! Cold…" Tsubaki said, feigning hurt. "It was my concern too, just so you know. It's another duty as the Familia Captain to ensure that, you know?"

Welf didn't say anything. He just took a few leftovers from the kitchen and a glass of water, then walked back to the living room, sprawling himself on one of the sofa.

"Five hours."

"A day?"

"The past two days."

"Hmph…no wonder you're so grouchy today." Tsubaki said, smiling. "I wanted to talk with you, but I think, instead of someone to talk, it seemed like you're in need for some Z instead."

"Hmm…" Welf just hummed, too tired to respond.

"If you're getting so tired, you should hurry back to your room and take a deep sleep. And no, Alva hasn't come home yet."

"I'm not asking about Alva." Welf said. "But, I really wonder…ever since she came and joined us, even it has only been a few days, but I could see that she had affected us, you especially." Welf said.

"Why me?"

"You seemed practically a bit more cheerful." Welf said, trying his best not to fall asleep at that time.

"You can't just say that in a few days. However, you might be right at a point." Tsubaki said. "I mean, maybe either she was not that busy, or it was just her nature. I mean, she was practically the first female member that I could talk conveniently. The others, well, you know, they're either silent, unfriendly, or just having no time to talk…" Tsubaki stopped since she found out that Welf had just fallen asleep.

She chuckled. "I think it's just unwise for me to let him hear me out that long…"

Tsubaki then got up, with a purpose to carry the sleeping boy back to his room, but a sound of door opening just prevented that from happening.

"That should be Alva. I could ask her to carry him, though." She snickered, however it soon faded as the figure entering the manor was not the half-angel, but someone much more divine.

"Hephaestus-_sama_?"

"Oh, Tsubaki." Hephaestus said, smiling, before noticing one of her favorite familia member was sprawled on the sofa. "What happened to him?"

"Don't worry, someone had just strained himself too far that he couldn't resist sleeping." Tsubaki sneered.

"Well, that's Welf for you. He always made me worried." Hephaestus replied. "Seriously, I don't know how to persuade him anymore."

"I know how you feel, Goddess." Tsubaki said. "I actually wanted to carry him back."

"No, just let him be." Hephaestus said.

"If you say so then. And…who's there with you?" Tsubaki realized that behind her Goddess was a cute-looking girl with ill-fittingly large chest, covered in white dress and blue ribbon.

"Oh, meet Goddess Hestia. She came here because she wanted to discuss something with me." Hephaestus said. "Hestia, I assume you have known about my captain here."

"Yeah, _Cyclops_, isn't it?" Hestia said.

"It might be better to call me just with my name, Tsubaki Collbrande, Goddess Hestia." Tsubaki replied, bowing.

"Anyway, Tsubaki, I'll be in my workshop with Hestia, please do not disturb us, all right?"

"_Hai_."

-.-

* * *

-Guild—

"Oh, lucky, we're early enough that Eina's probably still in shift." Bell said. The two adventurers entered the building and spotted the half-elf almost instantly.

"Eina-_san_!"

'That voice…' Eina heard the familiar sound and turned to see her favorite 'brother', along with a newbie, both had one similarity.

They both might be the cause of her death (of shock), given their recklessness.

"Dion-_cchi_, Bell-_kun_." Eina called. "It's nice to see the two of you together."

"Well, we happened to meet on the way here." Bell said. "Speaking of which, Alva told me that you wanted to see me. Is that right?"

"Right, of course." Eina said, now turning serious. "Well, let's say, that I'm a bit worried for the two of you, especially what had happened in the last few days."

"Hey, I said I'm sorry." Alva said apologetically.

"Yeah, I know. But you know how much I was afraid." Eina said. "That's why I wanted the two of you here, given your circumstances."

"Eh, both of us?" Bell said. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to give both of you a suggestion…"

-.-


	8. Evaluation under the Starry Sky

**Back with another chapter!**

**Also, I'm happy to hear that you're glad to see my story getting updated, author ****Shin Hyo Joon****, though I can't update as quickly as usual because of my university business.**

**Before the chapter, I'm going to point out that this story diverges from the main plot in some essential cases:**

**Bell had a party even before Lili and Welf joined.**

**Tsubaki had more screen time than her counterpart in the anime**

**Welf is going to the Monsterphilia. **

**And thus, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 7: Evaluation under the Starry Sky**

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"Void Railgun!"

One thrust and I realized that I had just taken down a line horde of lizardmen. Not something I would brag about, but I just realized something important too.

Somehow, I could land piercing railguns more often than usual. And I had a feeling that actually the railguns' piercing effect were not ultimately luck-based after all. There were some possibilities to raise it.

Yet I was still lacking on the concentration part. Thus I didn't realized that another pack was on my back. Until.

"Hyaaahh!"

'Slash!'

One sound of clean slash ripped the monsters behind me to dust. And of course, I didn't have to turn to see who had been saving me…again…

"_Daijoubu ka_, Alva-_san_?" I turned to see Bell Cranel, with his face showing one of a pure concern. Looking at his face just made me felt pangs of guilt and embarrassment. The fact that I am one level higher than him didn't help. But again, he might be spending more time in Orario so the experiences he had beat the power level I had.

"_Daijoubu-desu_. I'm sorry for my carelessness that you have to cover me again." I said, head hung low.

"Hahaha…it's okay. In fact, you've had my back much more often than the other way around, Alva-_san_." Bell said. "Though, I think now I know why you agreed with Eina's suggestion, despite the fact that you are Level Two."

"Practically yes."

"Eh, I don't mean to insult you, really!"

"No, you're not insulting anyone. Take it easy, Cranel-_san_." I smiled. God, this boy is really something, unlike most adventurers I had met. Usually they blamed others for something they didn't do, but he was blaming himself for something he didn't do. Kind of an equivalence relation: similar, but not the same.

Now then, how did we end up like this? Let's rewind the time for a bit, to the time right after both of us decided to meet Eina-_san_.

* * *

"A…party?" Bell asked.

"Yes, with the two of you getting acquainted pretty well and had delved the dungeon together, I suggest the two of you to form a party. That way the two of you can cover each other's backs and the recklessness can be avoided." Eina said in a stern tone. "Though, since both of you are reckless, I still need to advise both of you once again. Do Not Go on Adventures!"

That sentence had always redefined Eina Tulle. Welf once said that Eina had been like that because of a reason that he didn't want to tell, while Tsubaki once said that it was pretty much due to a past trauma, but she didn't tell more than that. Out of respect, I'm not asking further about that to her.

She was also known for her sternness, though. So I'm not objecting anything.

"Dion-_san_, despite you being a Level Two, I am not going to let Bell endanger himself, so the floor cap for you will follow Bell's. I know this might probably make your leveling slower, but it's better to be safe than sorry. You understand? Or do you have a better idea?"

"Yes, word for word, and no, I'll follow your suggestion." I said. I felt a bit saddened that I was going to be restricted, but I did understand what her purpose is. After all, it all started because of my recklessness, and, just my guess, also Eina's concern to Bell Cranel. Just like a big sister that's so overprotective to her little brother.

I was in my place to say that, no worries. After all, I had five younger (half-)siblings to take care at home, four of them are little (half-)brothers, so believe me, I knew.

Next, after Cranel-_san_ agreed on the terms by Eina, she then explained about Party system to the both of us. Long story short, it was practically similar to group venturing: Getting enough stones together, and divide the 'harvests' among the members. I personally didn't mind, and it wasn't too much different itself, other than having an extra hand to protect and to be protected.

And that's how it had led to this moment.

* * *

Both of us are advancing to Floor 6, that's one level lower than Cranel-_san_'s individual floor cap. Eina told us that my Level 2 Status have given an opportunity to lower his cap by one floor, but not more. She said that she'll be working on a way so that she could lower our cap even more.

But first, we have to earn her trust.

After a while, we did arrive at Floor 6, which looks pretty different from the previous floors that we had delved. And of course, we expected stronger monsters here.

And, unexpectedly, it was of the form we had never seen before. Shadow-like humanoids, with hands that looks like claws, and looking at the structure, it looked pretty sharp. They emerged in a hefty amount at once, and the darkness radiating from them were very noticeably terrifying in one sense.

"Whoa, what kind of monster are those?" I heard the boy beside me said. "They look strong."

"They sure is." I replied. "Thus, don't let your guard down."

They quickly turned hostile when they noticed us, and they quickly charged. My defensive tactics are tingling as I already put myself in Defense stance with my omni-spear in front. Though, I did have to note one thing, next time I'm here, I would have to bring a Holy or Light Spear instead. But since holy spears are out of question, I guess a Light-Elemental spear will be necessary. This conclusion was made because…well…they are shadow-like, and thus were associated to the Dark Element, and the fact that I could counterattack one of them with a decent damage that seemed to react dangerously on the monster.

And with that also, I was put on a risk, because of my Dark Bane, not only my damage against the shadows were higher, but also were my received damage.

I made one mental note to change my equipments. As for now, I'd go YOLO while protecting Cranel-_san_ at the same time.

* * *

The shadows turned out to be a bit too strong for Cranel-_san_ to handle, and my equipments and my Dark Bane skills didn't help much either. Both of us had gotten some decent scars, some were puncture-type while some were slash-types. I had more because of my usual defense technique, pretty much tanking a lot of damage for him, but my eyes missed at some and eventually resulting in them damaging the boy. Right now, I held my spear in front on a horizontal position, blocking four claws, that's two shadows, at once, just like a spear locking with four swords. Lucky for me, my defense techniques are capable enough to eventually repel-and-counter them, as I forced my Mind to cover up the lack of strength that I had, forcing a sudden burst of power that allow me to release the weapon lock, and the length of my spear allowed me to slash both shadows at once before piercing both of them one-by-one.

The slash is essential. My lack of Agility makes my piercing move to be a bit too slow, that's why I needed an extra pre-attack.

Contrast to me, who was being steadfast (i.e. didn't move a lot/mostly stayed in position), Bell Cranel's movements were very agile, decently more agile than me. His attacking strategy were of course different, relying on agile moves and attack speed, moving around to avoid the attacks from the shadows. Though, on our agreement, his dashing was not very far from my position, allowing me to cover his back while staying steadfast.

Around more than a hundred of shadows and some additional upper-level monsters that spawned on the floor sometimes, we decided to take a break for a while.

"Good job out there, Alva-_san_." I heard him complimenting me. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised though considering you are a Level 2 yourself, these monsters are probably no match for you."

"Thank you, Cranel-_san_, but, you're exaggerating." I said, startling him. "The shadows just happened to be…well…shadows. My abilities allowed me to battle shadows and Dark-element monsters easier, while at the same time I'm taking more damage from them."

I explained about one of my passive skills, Dark Bane, to him. Of course, he was amazed, but I had to calm him down, saying that the skill was just like a two-faced blade, and his assistance was pretty much needed too. Eventually after a few more chats and one more round of 'shadow-cutting' :D, we decided to call it a day by dividing out magic stone and rare material drops. He insisted to take less, saying that I did most of the killing, but I said that we should divide it evenly, since most of my kills wasn't possible if not for his assistance. In the end, we did divide it evenly.

When the night had fallen, I went back home and planned to work on my light-elemental spear, to help me with the battle against the War Shadows.

But eventually, one sight stopped me from doing so…

* * *

**-Welf's PoV-**

Seriously, I couldn't believe it…I mean, how the heck did I fell asleep on the living room, and why didn't anyone wake me up or something?

Getting up this morning on the living room, meeting the eyes of Tsubaki and Alva, both of them had smirks on their lips, that was pretty much a lot to handle.

But well, it was better than Tsubaki's original plan, to carry me up to my bedroom. I mean, if word spread out of me being carried by a woman, even if it was Tsubaki (no offense), I would practically stain my honor as a gentleman, and I had to live with embarrassment throughout the rest of my life.

Okay, I'm exaggerating, but it was partly true.

Things aside, I had just finished another part of the armors that I planned to sell through one usual merchant I knew. Even though most of my armors aren't sold quickly, but I couldn't ask for more. Supplies were getting very high and competitive spirits were all around us blacksmiths.

Anyway, back to the moment, I felt like, after all the work, I should get some fresh air for once. Tsubaki had commented me for many times about me holing up too much in my workshop. Not that I found it bad but it was annoying, to be honest, and it was more annoying that it was, in fact, true.

Sighing, I tidied most of my tools and headed towards the front door. Yep, by fresh air, I literally meant it.

Many of us blacksmiths of Hephaestus' Familia did this just for breather and relaxation, that's why we had a decent garden on our backyard, albeit not very beautiful like the ones at Loki Familia's mansion. It just serves as a refresher, like I had pointed out before.

I steadily walked towards the yard, expecting myself to be greeted by little trees, bushes, flowers, an empty bench, and pretty much what you could find in a garden.

And without any addition, either beautiful or not, it was already enough.

However, all of those above, added by a somehow foreign additional element, is not what I am expecting.

Seriously, what's with the unexpected things that happened in my life recently.

So, alongside the things I had mentioned, I saw a figure I knew, but with a slightly different sight than usual, or at least I thought.

On the bench in the garden was Alva, the newest member of our Familia. What makes her different though is something eye-catching from her: Her blonde hair, despite being in the dark, shines under the moonlight, as if it had a kind of reaction on it. Her glasses are gone, revealing the natural brown-colored eyes, being visible again thanks to the moonlight, and instead of her usual armors and adventurer-like outfits consisting of jackets, trousers, and many other things, she wore a bright purple dress (or is it a nightgown?) that reaches down to her lower legs. Her sitting position also tightened the dress in some parts that shows some lines of her curves, something that had never crossed my mind even once.

If I had to ignore the fact that she's a fellow Familia member and my feelings for Goddess Hephaestus, I would eventually say that Alva actually looked beautiful, and her figure this evening seemed so…angelic, as if the nature's emphasizing her beauty.

Well, I hope I was exaggerating…

But well, ignore that. I decided to walk towards her, and proceeded to sit beside her on the same bench. I mean, there's no reason for me to take another bench, and actually I also wanted to have a little talk with her.

"Ah, Welf, it's unusual to see you here!" I heard she said to me. "Getting some fresh air after holing up on the workshop for too long?"

"Please tell me that's Tsubaki who told you about that." I replied with a glare on her attempt of teasing me. It definitely has to be Tsubaki rubbing on her. "But you're right, I'm getting some fresh air after work. What are you doing here?"

"Just looking at the night sky." Alva replied sheepishly. "You can consider that a weird hobby but for me, it's one way of refreshing…and…" I suddenly saw her frown a little, despite seeing the faint smile on her face. "A way to remember my family."

"Your family, huh?" I said, letting the answer flow into my head. It might not be that much, but for me, family was pretty much a term that I wanted to avoid talking about. It could be something interesting for some people when they talked about that with me, but not for me myself, especially regarding my family's background, and also a reason of my headaches on my days as a blacksmith here in Orario.

Hearing Alva mentioning it when she was looking at the sky, I might guess that she missed her family a lot, which make sense since she had once told us that Yuidora, the city where she belonged, was even on a different continent from Orario, and that would imply a very long distance between the two cities.

Thus, if she were looking at the sky, the fact that she missed her family would make sense, a disheartening one, even.

"What about you, Welf? Did you miss your family?"

I frowned. I won't blame her though since she's pretty new here in Orario, thus she probably hadn't learned about the Crozzo family, a topic that always haunted me on my days of life.

"I…actually I hardly ever talk about my family. I seldom heard about them and I didn't want to think too much about them for… some reasons."

"I…I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry for asking." She said, frowning.

"N-No, it's okay." I tried to comfort her, and tried to direct the conversation to another topic, just to end this bitter sudden farce.

"So, Alva, how was your first week in Orario?"

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"How was your first week in Orario?"

On that question, I began to recall everything that had happened, starting from my first day I stepped my foot onto the city of Orario. I knew that I had a rough start, and I knew Welf and Tsubaki also knew about this since I had told them, in fact. My emotions are fluctuating, from anger, to sadness, to happiness, and many other.

I started to tell him about everything in short. Recounting the attack, about the day I joined the familia, and then the guild, then the dungeon delving, and also the fact that I was now forming a party with another adventurer.

I saw he snickered when I told him about the guild. Pretty sure it had to be a source of amusement for both him and Tsubaki. I still remembered how they were laughing a lot and teased me about that hellish long lecture that I received on my guild registration day, that would forever be their way around me and an unforgettable memory on my part.

He also laughed when I told him about the party forming, especially the reason part.

"Well, I knew you had it in you."

"Had what?"

"Recklessness."

"Dang it, Welf!" I glared at him as he laughed. What did he know of me? He's just trying to twist my words back at me, huh?

But well, seeing him just laughed his mind off actually had put me at ease. When I first met him, I thought he might be one of a serious type. So, when he suddenly started to tease me together with Tsubaki, that changed the outlook of him on my mind.

Though, I wouldn't lie. My first week in Orario was hectic, but I might evaluate the days to be the ones that will be forever etched as "the good days", well except that first day attack, though…

So I just told him that.

Then silence filled the air as both of us said nothing more, while just looking at the skies.

Or at least, that's what I thought we did. I did for my part, but I hadn't realized for a few moments that instead of the sky, Welf's eyes were onto…me?

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, only something that bothers me." Welf replied. "I don't actually mind even a little of this, but I am sure that this is the first time I saw you in a dress."

"Oh, this?" I said as I held a part of my nightgown. "I used this kind to sleep every night. They're just my nightgowns, nothing unusual. Of course you didn't know since you hadn't watched me sleep at night, right." I said, before smirking. "Or…don't tell me…that you're going to stalk me on my sleep…"

"Who the hell would do that!" Welf exclaimed with a glare, but additionally instead of the exclamation and the glare, his face was actually a bit red.

Oh…guilty as charged!

"Never knew a Welf Crozzo to be a pervert…"

"Darn it! Alva!" He grumbled.

"Serves you right, the score's 1-1 now." I said, snickering, followed by a laugh from both of us.

Well, the silent night instantly turned into night full of laughs for the two of us. Apparently though, he ended our conversation with a question I had never expected.

"Are you going to see the Monsterphilia tomorrow?"

"Monsterphilia?" I asked, clearly not knowing what that term is.

"It's a monster-taming performance event at the city by Ganesha Familia. It was said that it was an event you wouldn't like to miss. What's more, they might be also food stalls and something like that, just like festivals…" and thus Welf continued to explain as much as he knew. But the first sentences he said actually summarized the whole explanation: It was practically a monster-taming performance event.

Well, monster taming is not foreign to me, but it was indeed rare that I hardly even saw one. And it seemed like one thing for me not to miss.

"I…honestly had planned to go to the dungeon again, but if you said that it's a time-limited event that I couldn't miss, then I'll be thinking of going." I replied. "Why are you asking, though."

"Well, I had some free day tomorrow and I've been thinking to go there too, and since you're new here, I guess I could also invite you to join us."

"Oh, are you asking me out here?" I smirked.

"Whatever you say. You didn't hear the "us" part, don't you?" Welf replied wryly. "I also asked Tsubaki to come, so we'll going by the three of us."

"I see. That's settled, then."

* * *

**Sorry for the OOC-ness of most of the characters. And yeah, you're looking at a little Alva/Welf moments. I am not confirming that they are a ship in this story, but at least I marked out that the two of them are in a very good term, along with Tsubaki, and I still retain Welf's feelings for Goddess Hephaestus for a while.**

**Next chapter will be the Monsterphilia, and for the plot, I'll be taking a reference of Ais' Episode with a twist. Thus instead of the Silverback vs Bell, it would diverge more into Loki Familia x Violas.**

**Please R&R! Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage.**

**(Please point out if I got grammar mistakes too. I'm too tired to proofread this that I decided to edit any mistakes later, since I had to go to sleep because it was very late here XD)**


	9. Monsterphilia

**Back with another chapter! This chapter will cover the Monsterphilia. And as I had said before, it won't cover Bell vs Silverback, but it will be Loki Familia vs Violas. I'm trying to make Alva have contact with Loki Familia, especially after Loki's research about her.**

**As always, Some of the plot will be altered. This is a fanfiction after all and not a retelling of the anime. Though, I'm sorry if some terms or plots don't make sense. Feel free to point them out.**

**Thanks for author ****Shin Hyo Joon**** for the support! Glad you like it! And yeah, while I still have time, I'll be updating. But now, I'm entering exam period thus I won't be actively updating like usual. Again, Thanks for the support!**

**Anyway, here's the Chapter!**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 8- Monsterphilia**

**(Meeting Loki Familia)**

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"Hey, look at the two of them!"

"I…Isn't that the boy who can make magic swords? I forgot his name but I heard he was a descendant of the Crozzo family!"

"And who's the girl beside him? Are they dating?"

Sounds of whispering gossips were emanating from all around us. I tried to ignore all of it, "tried" being the key word. Currently I was walking inside the city area where the Monsterphilia event was supposed to take place. I would have gone with Welf and Tsubaki.

Another key word: "Would have gone".

For some reasons, Tsubaki cancelled her participation, saying that she had an urgent request to fulfill and she needed to stay in her workshop. She also said that we should go together, just the two of us, and she'd catch up when the request was finished.

Out of respect, we all believed in our captain and decided to go, just me and Welf, onto the event. However, I couldn't help but to think that something was very fishy.

I felt like Tsubaki's real reason wasn't referring to the sudden urgent request.

But nevertheless, I let go of that thoughts and just continued walking around the area. And as you could hear, many people surrounding us mistook us as a young couple.

Although mostly are just unimportant talks and rumours, one fact clearly took my interest.

Magic swords and Crozzo Family.

Come to think of it. Tsubaki once mentioned about it when she was asking about Alchemists, and that topic seemed like it annoyed Welf. And judging from the reaction of the crowd, it really felt like Crozzo Family is very well-known.

But then, why didn't Welf want to talk about his family? Is there something wrong?

"Oi, Alva, are you okay? You almost bumped to people several times!" I heard Welf asked, making me discard the sudden thoughts that appeared before me.

"Eh? Sorry. I was thinking." I replied.

"Thinking about what? Scratch it…rather than thinking, you seemed like you're daydreaming instead…"

"Oh, you can tell?" I smirked.

"Just my instincts."

We continued to walk towards the venue, now we're on the stalls which were opening in response to the event.

The stalls reminded me of the seasonal market in Yuidora, many types of stuffs were sold there. Weapons, armors, rare materials, food, drink, clothes, and many more. And the number of people passing by and collecting themselves there is just uncountable.

Talk about a very big event…

"So…um…what did you usually do in this place?" I asked, which was replied by an "are-you-freaking-serious" face from the redhead beside me.

"Seriously? Don't tell me you have never gone to this kind of event?"

"I mean, well, what makes this event different from most festivals?"

"Ah, okay, I see what you mean." Welf replied. "About that, well, usually there will be a performance of monster-taming, usually done by the Ganesha Familia. Other than that, it's just your usual festival."

"Oh…" I replied. Well, to be honest, the amount of people in this festival also shocked me to the core. I mean, for just a classic festival plus a bonus of monster-taming performance, the number of visitors were relatively abundant.

"So…what to do now?"

"You can enjoy visiting the stands as you want. Though, you should be back here in an hour or so since that would be the time for the Monsterphilia."

"Muu…and I thought you wanted to go together and show me around…" I teased.

"That's just you." He replied nonchalantly. "But fine, I'll do it, else you might tell Tsubaki and who knows what will happen…"

And so, the two of us decided to roam around the stalls, without knowing that actually something bad was going to happen.

* * *

-At another part of the stalls area-

**-3rd Person's PoV-**

"Here…say ahh…"

"No…"

"C'mon…say ahh…"

"No…"

The sequence of offer and rejection continues repetitively there. In fact, it was the sequence of conversation between a red-haired Goddess and one beautiful 'emotionless' blonde.

Currently, Loki was holding a _Jagamarukun_ on her hand, and so do the blonde. Of course, if one could hear the exchange of words between them, you knew what was actually happening.

Yep, the trickster goddess was trying to offer Ais to bite her _Jagamarukun_ for umpteenth time, and for the same amount of time, the blonde just rejected the offer with no unneeded words. Just a no.

After hundreds of failures, finally Loki gave up and tried the other approach. Sneakily she closed in on the blonde, or rather, the _Jagamarukun_ on her hand, and bit a piece out of it, purposefully biting the bite mark on the snack too. That act annoyed the blonde, and satisfied the Goddess as she knew she had done something remarkable…at least to herself.

She had just indirectly kissed Ais Wallenstein.

Ais, knowing what her goddess had been doing, just huffed and sighed in annoyance.

* * *

The two ladies continued to walk around the stalls. Loki had already got enough food on her left hand, when suddenly they noticed an unusual bunch on one of the places near the stall.

"Guild members?" Ais remarked.

"That's unusual. Do you want to check?"

The two approached the members when they overheard their dialogue.

"A-Anyway, they said if there are any adventurers nearby, ask them for help, no matter what familia they're from."

"Yeah, but the odds of any being around are…"

The two employees are just talking to each other. Apparently they looked like they're searching for adventurers to help them. Loki, noticing this, then approached and interrupted the two.

"What's up? Can we make some money?"

Ais just sighed at her Goddess antics, but she knew something was up judging from the guild employee's faces. And so she decided to butt in as well.

"Did something happen?"

The two guild employees noticed the two newcomers, and was shocked to see not one, but two well-known figures in front of them.

"_A-Ais Wallenstein-cchi!"_ Eina was the one to be surprised. But knowing her, she tried to calm herself and explained what was going on.

"A-Actually, a monster has escaped from the Amphitheater's Basement."

The employees were expecting a shocked expression from the Goddess and the blonde, but because of a prior meeting, apparently Loki knew that this could happen according to their prediction.

"I see, speak of the devil, huh?" Loki then turned to the blonde beside him. "You got this, Ais."

"_Hai_."

And thus, the blonde quickly leap around and ran towards the designated location, or rather,

"_Tempest!"_

She gracefully moved her body in the air as if she was flying towards her destination, unaware of the fact that her comrades are not in a good situation as well.

* * *

"So, a lot of people bought this…is this snack very popular here?" Alva asked as she was carrying a bag of _Jagamarukun_'s.

"You could say it like that." Welf grinned. "Not only they were pretty cheap, but they too fit the palate of most Orario citizens."

"Well, I could agree with the cheap part." Alva said as she took one _Jagamarukun_ from the bag and bit into it.

"And yeah, this one tastes good too. I guess I really need to try making this back home."

"You can always buy one, they're sold at many places."

"No, I mean back at Yuidora." Alva remarked. "They really should try this kind of snack. I know they will like this too."

"Well, whatever you say." Welf said. "So, should we go back to the colloseum area for the Monsterphilia? The faster we come the bigger the chances we get seats.

"Um…"

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Suddenly a scream could be heard on their front. Of course, being curious, both of them ran straight forward, aiming to find the source of the scream.

They expected to see people in need of help or something like that, and seems like they didn't miss their mark.

Only, if they were to offer a help, this one's pretty rough.

As they arrived, they saw a giant half-plant-half-snake-like creature on one of the area. Some people were running away, but a few people, namely, two amazons and one elf was staying on the place, seemingly battling the monster. Being in Orario for quite long, and the fact that the three battling adventurers are well-known, Welf could recognize them, at least which familia they belonged. The same didn't hold for Alva, though.

"Hyaaaah!" One of the amazons charged in, trying to slash the creature, only to be repelled and sent down to the wall. The other one also did the same, and met the same fate. The two fallen amazons then were restrained by the 'vines' of the monster, disabling them from moving anymore.

And that left the elf, which from how it looked, was a mage. A lone mage, without cover, that spelt wrong…

"That elf is in trouble!" Alva said, suddenly taking up her spear from her back.

"Alva, what are you doing?" Welf exclaimed.

"I'm buying time to let the elf escape!"

"You don't need to! Those girls are strong, they can hold their own." Welf said.

Too bad for him, though, Alva didn't hear him, and rushed towards the elf. Before she reached the elf, however, she began to chant some magic spell, which attracted the creature. And thus, it melee-attacked the elf, sending her down to the ground.

"Lefiya!" The amazons screamed, seeing their elven comrade getting hurt.

"Goddamnit!" Alva cursed under her breath, cursing her slow movement. But apparently despite being slow, she was fast enough to…

"Lefiya!"

"Grroaaar!" The plant-snake monster began to attack the defenseless mage.

"Clang!"

.

Only to be blocked by a spear.

"Eh?"

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"Miss, are you okay? If you could get up please get up now!" I said as I struggled to withstand my spear to block the attacking vines.

The elf retaliated and regained her senses, and looked up to see a blonde, with a semi-heavy armor and a spear was near her, blocking the vines sent her way.

"Ais? No…who are you?"

"Doesn't matter now. Please escape!"

"No, I can't!" The elf said. "There's no way I'll leave my friends behind."

So the amazons were her friends, just as I thought. Looking that the amazons were still disabled because of the vines, I knew I had to do something. Blocking is not enough. And so, I quickly put up a stance I had used for multiple times.

"What are you doing?" The elf said.

"I'm trying to release your friends." I said, before charging up the spear with omni/null power.

…which unfortunately didn't go unnoticed by the monster.

"Void Railgun!"

As I released it, the shockwave was sent as a blow to the monster. To my surprise, either it didn't leave any damage, or the monster was too strong.

And because of the provocation, I was suddenly attacked in fast pace, with myself not being able to block because of the delay after releasing Void Railgun, and was struck down in front of the elf.

"Aaaargh!"

"Alva!" Welf quickly noticed me and ran towards my direction, I tried to stop him so that he didn't attract the monster, but to no avail.

I grumbled, struggling myself to get up.

…only to be disabled by the vines as well.

"Darn it!" I cursed.

"Alva!"

"Hraaaaghh!" Suddenly another person just joined in, and if my sight didn't fool me, it looked like she was approaching the monster…by flying?"

Sword in hand, the newcomer, which I registered to be a blonde girl, appeared above the monster, attempting to either slash or stab it.

'That's great,' I thought. 'It will be a clean hit and we could finally release ourselves from these vines.'

That was a hopeful thought. And it looked like going that way, until.

"Clang!"

.

*shatter*

"What?" The amazon exclaimed. The blonde's face also turned into one of a pure horror. I couldn't help but to be scared as well.

The sword…shattered!

'What…the…hell…' I muttered.

All of a sudden, one of the amazons spoke up.

"Ais! It's reacting to magic! Unleash your wind!"

"We can take them one-on-one even without our weapons" The other amazon added."

"Hm!" I heard the blonde mumbling.

I looked around to see the elven mage standing in horror, but her limbs are not disabled by the vines. And then, I saw the blonde begin to fly around, a windy aura around her, trying to redirect the focus of the monsters. I felt my body being shaken as the proof that the creature is indeed attracted to her, or to be precise, her magic.

My eyes then darted towards the elven mage again. This time however, she had readied her staff.

Then my eyes darted to the blonde again, and so on and so forth.

Then it hit me. I knew their plan! And if that's the case, I could actually help them if possible!

With the remaining strength I had, I began to yell.

"Miss, can you attract the monster so that I'd be moved far from your elven friend?" I said.

The girl noticed me and was confused, also the amazons that were watching. But the girl just nodded and began to attract the creature.

The immense magic flow attracted the creature as the vines slowly tried to reach the blonde girl, with one of them contained me. With that said, I was now located at one of the far ends of the area, opposite of the elven mage.

However, in one motion, I saw that the movements of the girl become slow, as if she lost focus or something, and was caught by the plant-part, which then threw her towards a wall.

"Ais!"

"I'll buy time!" I said. Holding my spear with just one arm since my limbs are being held, I started to yell.

"Void Railgun!"

The magic shock almost dismantled me from my weapon, but my grip was strong enough to maintain it that it surprisingly startled the monster. Now the monster's getting enraged and shook the vine that contained me. I tried to compose myself not to vomit or something.

After all, I was assuring their plan to come to fruition. And faintly I began to hear a soft sound.

"

_In the name of Wishe, I beseech you! _

_Elders of the forest, proud compatriots, come to my voice. Connect, form a pledge, dance in a ring._

_"_

"Look at that!" one of the Amazon said. The shaking slowed down thus I could eventually focus my sight on the elf.

"That's summon burst! A rare, ever-changing magic possessed only by Lefiya, which allows her to invoke any of the myriad elven magics. Hence the alias given to her…" Another one said.

Finally, I heard the blonde girl speak up, completing the sentence.

"Thousand Elf."

_S…Sugoi_! I mumbled, looking at the magic circle that formed around the elven mage. Well, I knew she will do something, but I didn't expect it to be this beautiful.

_"_

_Give rise to a blizzard, third blistering winter. My name is Alf!_

**_Wynn Fimbulvetr!_**

_"_

A gust…no…a mass of blizzard suddenly appeared, attacking the giant creature and freezing it almost instantly. Lucky for me, before it was completely frozen, they lost their power and thus I was released from the vines. The frozen creature then was quickly destroyed, probably a part of the spell too.

* * *

When all had finished, the amazons…scratch that, the one with…ehem…the flatter chest quickly rushed towards the elven mage. The other two girls just followed behind.

"Lefiya! Thank you! You saved us!"

"T-Tiona-_san_?"

"That was a fine display of magic!" The bustier amazon added.

"Yes, you're just like Riveria." The blonde added

"H—hauuuu…" the elven mage blushed, before suddenly her eyes suddenly directed to me, who was standing with my spear as a support. That creature had taken a lot of me… "But, I won't be able to chant it if not for your decoy, and also, if that girl over there didn't block their attacks, I won't be able to do so." She said, pointing at me.

I slowly walked towards the group, again with my spear as a support. "Thank you for your help, miss."

"Ah, it was nothing. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for saving me." I replied.

"Good work, everyone!" Suddenly a red-haired figure approached us. All of us, well, except me, recognized her instantly.

"Loki…"

"Ah, Ais, everyone, and, oh…" Loki's slanted eyes was suddenly focused on me. "Never think that I'm going to see you again so soon, Half-Angel."

"H-H-Half Angel?" The elven mage's eyes widened.

"Wait, excuse me, but do I know you? And why are you calling me Half-Angel?" I asked.

"Of course we did, or well, you didn't notice us apparently." The figure said. "We were sitting on the table next to you when we're having a party at the Hostess of Fertility." She said.

"The Hostess of Fertility…I had visited the place a few times…"

"I still remember you bringing a big backpack with you, as if you had just come to this city." She added.

Now that makes sense. She must've been referring to the day when I first arrived in Orario.

"Oh, that time. That must've been my first time visiting the bar." I said. Well, come to think of it, the girls did look a bit familiar…

But, even so, it still hadn't explained the fact that she knew my race, or my true identity.

"But, why Half-Angel?"

"Well, I would like to tell you, but first, there's something we have to do." Loki said, turning to Ais. "Ais, please check around the area and defeat any monsters that still remained.

"_Hai_."

"Tione, Tiona, I gotta ask you to check out the sewers, there might be more of them."

"_Wakatta_!" The flatter of the Amazon replied.

"Lefiya, you take it easy. Get some treatment at the Guild. Oh, and seems like our half-angel friend needed the same treatment too so both of you should go to the guild."

"_H-Hai_."

"Oh, after that, if you have time, could you please come to our manor as well?"

"U-Um…"

"Alva!" Suddenly I heard Welf yelling as he suddenly ran towards me. "_Daijoubu ka?_"

"_Daijoubu_." I smiled.

"Ohoho…if it isn't Hephaestus' favorite child." The redhead woman teased, causing the boy to blush slightly. "Oh well, the invitation is still open, half-angel. We'll be expecting you."

"One moment, please."

"Yes?"

"I'll refrain of asking about my race, but, are you, by chance, a goddess?"

"Of course. That's Goddess Loki, head of the Loki Familia!" Welf answered for me.

"You heard the boy." Loki replied.

"I see, no wonder you can sense it. I mean, the one that can sense it is only Goddess Hephaestus herself, so I reckon that only gods/goddesses can acquire something hidden about me." I said.

"Well, that's not entirely true, but I got your point." Loki said. "Anyhow, the monsters are waiting, so let's move. Chop chop!"

The group dispersed, or rather, it was just Loki and the amazons, which I heard had the name Tiona and Tione. The blonde, known as Ais, stayed behind with the elf, whose name I learned as Lefiya, and also Welf and I.

"_Ano_, Lefiya," Ais started a chat

"Yes?"

"Sorry, I tore the dress."

"Hey, we can go shopping again." Lefiya said, smiling. I then saw Ais took a potion and drank half of it, before giving the rest to Lefiya.

"Take the rest."

"Eh?"

Without any more words, Ais just ran quickly to another direction, leaving Lefiya, Welf and me.

Apparently, I was the one to start another conversation.

"So, should we go to the guild?" I said.

"Sure."

The three of us walked slowly. Apparently Lefiya was able to walk although slowly, and Welf was uninjured. I, however, still have to use my spear like a walking stick.

"Did you need help, miss?"

"I'm Alva, Alvaretta Dion, and it's okay, I'm fine." I said.

"You are not fine at all, Alva. _Mattaku_…" Welf sweatdropped. "Here, take my hand…"

I smirked at him.

"For support, of course, keep your mind out of the gutter." Welf sighed.

As I nearly grabbed his hand, though…

"KAMI-SAMAAA!"

That voice, there's only one boy with that sound, and, while wincing in pain and with the rest of my power, I 'ran' (with my spear as a running support) towards the voice…

…to see Bell Cranel and an unconscious busty-loli girl.

* * *

**Yup, as you can see, there's another alteration here. Bell Cranel had met Lefiya and Welf at this AU, but they practically didn't know each other and wouldn't know too, I'll explain about it in the next chapter. **

**Also, the anime never covered Welf's interaction with Loki familia before the contract with Bell, right? Thus, why don't we try inserting it here?**

**Next chapter, according to the DanMemo Storyline (which I believe also the Anime) will be the encounter will Liliruca Arde, or titled "Supporter". But I'll cover probably half of it for the next chapter, because I'll insert a little filler here, a little interaction between Alva and Lefiya. I consider this to be important because I've put a little plan involving the two of them on the future chapters. **

**Anyhow. Please R&R! No flames pls! Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	10. Broadening the Circle of Acquaintance

**Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews, everyone! And sorry for not answering the reviews, I'll tell you the reason at the outro below!**

**Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 9: Broadening the Circle of Acquaintance**

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"KAMI-SAMAAA!"

Hearing the scream, I opted…no, I decided to run towards the source. Welf and Lefiya was surprised, but followed me nonetheless.

Still wincing from the pain of the previous battle, I used my spear as a support and finally arrived at the scene.

And, just as I predicted, it really was Cranel-_san_. However, he was kneeling, and was holding a short girl with baby-like face, with black hair tied to a twintail, and was wearing a rugged white dress, which didn't fully cover her ill-fittingly large breasts.

Pardon my impudence, but I mean, this lady reminded me of one of my aunts with her childlike face, but she, again sorry for my impolite choice of words, had practically small chest that actually fits her overall appearance. But it didn't hold for this girl in front of Cranel-_san_. The fact that there were ribbons around the dress which seemed to emphasize how large her breasts were didn't help at all.

But then, I remembered. Cranel-_san_ was carrying her in his arms and he had just screamed "_Kami-sama_". Thus, either he was trying to call for his Goddess, or the girl in front of him was the Goddess herself.

Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if the second one was true, I mean, recently I had met one known as Goddess Loki, and she did look alike a normal human there.

"Cranel-_san_, is something the matter."

"Bell-_kun_?"

Apparently other than the three of us, another figure emerged and approached the white-haired boy. It didn't take me long to register who she is as we had known each other pretty well…well…mostly.

The problem was, why was she here? Was she taking a day off?

"Alva-_san_? Syr-_san_?"

"What happened to Hestia-_sama_?" Syr suddenly added.

'Hestia-_sama_?' I thought, so she really was a goddess.

"I don't know…I hope it's not something bad. Don't leave me, _Kami-sama_." Cranel-_san_ said, clutching the girl's arm."

"Then let's bring her to Mama Mia." Syr said, before turning to me. "Alva-_san_, would you mind the-oh dear, what happened to you?"

"I-It's okay, just a few bruises from a battle. I was on my way to the guild myself when I heard Cranel-_san_ screaming." I replied.

"Uh, and I thought I can count on you to carry her."

"Don't worry about that, Syr-_san_, I'll carry her then." The white-haired boy said.

Then, we parted ways, Bell and Syr went to the bar while Welf, Lefiya, and I proceeded to the guild as usual. Though somehow, I saw a little pout coming from the grey-haired waitress, I wonder why.

* * *

**-Guild Area-**

"Well, if you had drunk a potion before, it seemed like you're almost okay, Viridis-_cchi_, you just need a few amount of rest and you're as healthy as you can get." One of the guild employees stated."

"Ah. Thank you!" Lefiya replied. Her eyes are now darted to the other adventurer that had helped her. Currently she was being treated by another employee. Lefiya then walked closer. "How is she doing?"

"She's doing surprisingly fine, apart from small cracks on her limbs." The employee asked. "What did she do, anyway?"

"Um, let's say that she battled a very strong mysterious monster?"

"Hm…" The employee murmured. "Alright then, please stay here for a while, I'm going to take some more bandages."

The guild employee exited the treatment room, leaving the half-angel and the elven mage inside the room. Awkward silence emanated for a while, before the elf decided to break the ice.

"Once again, t-thank you, Alva-_san_."

"No problem, Lefiya-_san_…is it okay if I call you that?"

Lefiya nodded. "By the way, though, when Loki said that we had met once when we're having a party, and you said that it was the day when you first came to the city, that means you're a new adventurer?"

"I won't deny." Alva said. "No more than two weeks if my mind is right."

"Just two weeks, and you're brave enough to battle that monster…" Lefiya added. "I don't know what to say…"

"Uh…well, I got my own punishment, right. If not for your amazing magic, I'd be history." I replied humbly.

"Uuuu~…please, don't say that." Lefiya blushed while I giggled.

There was another silence. The guild employee hadn't come back yet. I wonder what took so long for finding bandages…

"Hey, Alva-_san_."

"Hm?"

"Why is Loki calling you Half-Angel?"

Of course, this question could emerge any time, especially since Goddess Loki suddenly call me by that directly in front of her.

To be honest, I was reluctant to answer that. It's not like I didn't like it, but if what Ryuu said was right, then if words spread out about my race, then there would be a problem.

But well, I think since Lefiya was probably a member of Loki's Familia, and Loki had already figured me out, I think I wouldn't have to hide it from her.

"Well, because that's what I am." I replied. "I am a half-Angel."

That seemed like it surprised her.

"I thought you are a half-elf. And…what exactly is a half-Angel, anyway?"

"Well, you're not the only one thinking about that, and I believe you won't be the last one. And honestly, I preferred to be considered a half-elf, really."

"Eh? Why?" Lefiya asked again, confused.

"Reasons, sorry, I'm a bit uncomfortable to talk about it."

Well, I'm not lying. Back in Yuidora, I heard mother and father had problems about existence of Angels there. When my mother once entered my father's workshop around twenty years ago, Mom only waited at the corner for supervising my father due to a promise shared by the two of them. When words spread out, my father's workshop was suddenly stormed by blacksmiths, all with the purpose of meeting my mother. While the purpose was practically harmless, still it caused a form of havoc into the household.

Back in Yuidora, everyone saw me as a half-elf because of one of my father's wives, they accepted elves much more rationally then angels, and I prefer it that way.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you about that."

"It's okay, Lefiya-_san_." I said. "Though, if your goddess wanted me to come to your familia's manor, then I'll be coming, but I wonder what she wanted though. And a half-angel's etimology is just like a half-elf, I was born to an Angel and a Human."

"Ehh? But…how was that possible?"

I just smiled. "I believe your goddess can explain that."

And as if everything had been set up, just after I said that, the employee was back with more bandages. We spent the times in silence, and after we finished, we took off to our own destinations. I made sure that I'll visit her Familia when I got the chance though, I mean, if the goddess herself was the one inviting me, then it won't be of a bad reason. Well, at least that was I believed.

* * *

My destination was actually either back home, with Welf, well, that is if he waited for me. Knowing him, he'd just wait for me and then he'd tease me to no end, especially about my recklessness…

However, instead of Welf, it was another figure, and the figure looked shocked when I emerged from the facility.

"Ah…Dion-_cchi_, you're…wait…what happened to you?"

It was…indeed…Eina Tulle. And from the look of worry that soon accompanied by a glare, I knew very much that I was put on a check…possibly mate.

"Don't tell me, you injured yourself in the dungeon again with Bell?" She glared at me, "Jeez, and I already told you multiple times not to…"

"Well actually, she's not from the dungeon." A familiar voice emerged from the back. "She got it from the Monsterphilia incident."

"Welf!" I called.

"M…Monsterphilia incident? What do you mean?" Eina said with a shock.

"Well, to put it bluntly." Welf beat me on the time to explain. "We ran into Loki Familia who was battling a kind of snake-plant hybrid monster, and a certain hotheaded girl here joined the fray to save the elven mage of the Familia who was attacked by the monster. But she ended up being beaten instead."

That of course made the glare from Eina even more intense. Welf Crozzo, you are a traitor…

Little did I know, Eina actually knew about the battle with Violas because of the report sent by Lefiya and her familia. Thus, she knew very well that what I was doing was unbelievable.

"So let me recap…you…a Level 2 Adventurer, battled against Violas, who had kept a party of Level 3s and Level 5s on a pinch, in order to save the elven mage of the party, without even understanding that the monster is far above your level?" Eina said with a very stern tone, earning sweat drops and shivers from me.

"Uh…above my level?"

"Dion-_cchi_, The mage you helped was a Level 3, and the amazons are all Level 5, even they were assisted by the Sword Princess, and yet they were still on a pinch! How could you, with a lower level and experience than them, recklessly entered the battle? Are you asking for death?"

I could not answer that. She had put me on a checkmate…

"Please give her a break, miss Eina." Welf suddenly emerged. "At least she survived and seemed like she befriended the mage herself after that."

Eina's glare softened, but her pout remains. After all, I worried her too much. "And I thought you can restrain yourself, especially when I told you about your skills…"

"At least I didn't turn to Angel Form during the battle!" I said sheepishly.

"Well, you got a point, but do not ever try this again!" Eina said sternly. "Good point that you're now befriending a level 3 yourself. You should learn more from her."

"Uh…I'll try." I said. Well she got a point though. While I never knew Lefiya was a Level 3, I should have known that she got a little more experience than myself, and somehow my naivety got over me…

"That being said. I was relieved that you survived the incident."

* * *

-Around four days later-

At the afternoon, I was meeting Goddess Hephaestus on Welf's recommendation. He said that after the incident with the Violas and the few more adventuring days, there must be a certain leap on my Falna, and actually it would be the first time that my Falna would be updated.

While Hephaestus-_sama_ was very busy most of the time, somehow she wasn't tonight, and thus here I was now, sitting with my back exposed to the Goddess.

To be honest, Goddess Hephaestus was surprised when she saw the parchment representing my falna.

"Alva, what have you been doing these past days? Surely you're not just making weapons, aren't you?" She said as she gave me the parchment

* * *

**Alvaretta Dion**

**[Level Two]**

**Strength: H112-****H147**

**Endurance: F377-****D538**

**Dexterity: F301-****F305**

**Agility: I26-****I38**

**Magic: E402-****E487**

**Skills:**

**Congenital Ability (Half-Apsael): Angel's Blessing: Cost MP continuously to turn into Angelic Form, higher Endurance and Magic means lower continual MP cost. High Initial MP Cost. Automatically triggered on low HP.**

**Congenital Ability (Half-Apsael): Dark Bane:  
In Human Form, user takes more damage from Dark Element attacks but deals more damage to Dark-type enemies.  
In Angel Form, high resistance against Dark Element attacks, takes all damage from Dark Element attacks by MP instead of HP, and deals more damage to Dark-type enemies.**

**Alchemist: Weapons and Equipment created may be infused with elemental-magic. [Half-Apsael: Restricted to Holy, Light and Omni-magic Attributes]. Ability to create basic potions (quality scales with level)**

**Prevail: Increased Physical Defense/Magic Resist on lower HP. (Requires Level 3)**

**Development Abilities:**

**Blacksmith D: Enables the user to create low to middle-level weapons and equipment.**

**Magic:**

**Human Form (usable in Angel Form too):**

**Congenital Magic: Lumen Transfigo: Create a spear-like burst of light to damage an enemy. Reduces enemy magic resistance. (Locked: Requires Level 3)**

**Angel Form**

**Congenital Magic: Sanctus Claustrum: High AoE Holy Magic. High MP Cost, High Penetration Rate, Radius scales with Magic Stats.**

* * *

"You were adventuring for only a few days over a week, and I could understand the high improvement of magic since you're an alchemist, who made magic-infused weapons. But, the endurance…this leap didn't make sense!" Goddess Hephaestus said. "161 points increase on Endurance and 85 points increase on Magic for a Level 2 in a week is almost impossible."

"But…it did happen."

Goddess sighed. "What did you exactly do on that Snake-Plant monsters' incident? I heard from Welf that you're fighting the monsters together with Loki Familia adventurers while the latter was actually struggling against them."

Since this was Goddess Hephaestus who asked me, I couldn't help but to tell her the truth, any cover-ups will be blown instantly in front of her.

"Alva, I can't believe you could be so reckless!" She said. "Had it not been the Loki Familia finally ending the fight, your life could be sacrificed!"

And yep, seemed like everyone's worrying about the same thing. Just like with Eina's accusation, I can't even say anything. This one was even worse, not even a lie can be formed here, and no Welf to spare me this time.

"I'm s-sorry, Goddess."

"Well, sorry is not enough, but I'll have to let it go this time." I heard Goddess warned me. "After all, what's done is done, and now I'm practically owe Loki one."

"Speaking of Goddess Loki." I said. "She invited me to her manor after the Violas incident. And she casually called me by "Half-Angel" right in front of her familia members. I wonder how she managed to know about it."

Goddess Hephaestus sighed, before answering, "Well, you know that a Goddess can apparently sense your divine aura inside you, remember?"

"Yes."

"For Loki, the case is much more than that." She paused for a while, then continued with a sigh. "Loki's Familia is practically one of the strongest Familia here in Orario, and with that being said, she will stop at nothing to satisfy the curiosity for strange abnormalities in the city. One of them might be you, Alva."

"Eh?" I said, shocked. "Well, Goddess Loki told us that we have met once when I first visited the Hostess of Fertility for the first time, I don't know if it was even related to this."

"It was very related, Alva." Goddess Hephaestus said. "To be honest here, right after she met you, she researched more about your race. She said that your faint divinity was sensed by one of her familia members and later by herself, and they ended up researching about Half-Angels. I'm afraid now the fact that you being a half-angel had spread throughout most of the Familia members of hers."

"Uh…" I could only mumble and took everything she said to my head. So, Goddess Loki's been researching about me? Why did she do that? And I was an abnormality? What did she mean?

"If you're invited to meet her, Alva, I won't stop you. I knew Loki had her reasons. But still, keep your guard on. Although she couldn't force you to join her immediately, I am still anxious about this. After all, half-angels are very rare and you had perked her curiosity."

"Understood." I said.

"Now then, even if you looked like you might qualify for a Level Up, I suggest you keep training and postpone the Level Up since your overall status are strangely imbalanced." Goddess said. "Now you may go. Again, remember not to let the same thing happen again, and say my greetings to Loki." Goddess Hephaestus said.

"_Arigatou_, Hephaestus-_sama_!"

"_Doiteshimashita, _Alva."

* * *

As I exited the goddess' room, I walked into the living room to take a rest for a while, before suddenly the front door of the manor was opened, revealing none other than my red-haired comrade, which somehow seemed to be in a good mood as he smiled all the time.

"Someone is in a good mood, I see." I said teasingly. "Something good happen? You finally found a suitor? Or are you hitched with a girl?"

"Seriously, haven't you got a better question to ask? And doesn't all the choices there mean the same?" Welf growled, before calming down and kept his smile. "Somebody finally bought my Pyonkichi."

"Pyonkichi, what is that?" I asked, confused about the weird name. "Of course it's not a name of a girl, right? Because you might have just sold a girl…"

"Your jokes are very dangerous, Alva-_san_." Welf said. "I started to doubt if you really are a half-angel or a half-succubus." Okay stop right there, you're dangerously stepping the line. I remembered Loki mentioning half-angel in front of the group, which included him too. But this is not the joke what I am expecting…

"Dang, that hurt! How the hell do you equalize me with a succubus anyway?" I said. "I remembered that I never seduced you in any way…" an idea then crossed my mind as I smirked, "or…you want me to?"

"Heck no! Darn it. Why the hell would I even bother…" Welf said with a faint blush, sweatdropping as well as I laughed hard. "Pyonkichi is my handmade light armor. Somehow it wasn't sold for a long time before finally an adventurer, possibly a new one, bought it."

"Light armor named Pyonkichi? That sounded a bit weird if I should say."

"Well it's my hand-made armor so I have my right to name it as free as I want."

"Fair enough." I said. "Well, I needed to see Goddess Loki since I had promised to visit her. See you around, Welf…-_pyon_!" I laughed when I mimicked that rabbit sound.

"You're so dead, Alva…"

* * *

**Meanwhile in the city**

"You shouldn't be sword fighting in the middle of the city." A soft, calming voice stated.

"Heeh? Stay out of this. Get lost you-" One of the combatants was very annoyed towards the intervener, but suddenly the intervener's eyes turned sharp and her voice was raised in pitch.

"Be silent! I always went too far."

"Ukh!" The combatant was frozen on spot. "D…Damn it."

The combatant then ran away, leaving the other one of the combatants and the intervener in the alley. Apparently the two knew each other and the combatant was very relieved.

"Thank you! You saved me, Ryuu-_san_." The combatant said.

"No, I'm sorry for the intervention, Cranel-_san_." Ryuu replied.

Bell was relieved that Ryuu was there to stop them. Had she not been there, the result will be bloodier and more chaotic. He owed the elf one. Though, not long after that, he realized something.

"Oh right, that girl, is she gone?"

"Hmm?"

"M-Maybe she was scared and ran away?"

Unnoticed by the white-haired boy, someone is actually hearing their conversation sneakily on a junction of the alley. A figure with short brown hair and a hood covering her head.

"Heheheh…"

* * *

As Bell walked towards his home, he couldn't help but to think about what Eina had said to him in the day before.

* * *

"_Eina-san, Thank you for the vambrace! I'll take good care of it!" Bell said_

"_Y-You're welcome." Eina said with a blush. Apparently she had blurted out something before that made the situation a bit awkward. Something about being unable to cope with losing her beloved adventurer or something. But apparently the awkwardness eventually faded little by little, and Eina had another concern on her head._

"_Say, Bell."_

"_Eh?"_

"_While you're in a party with Dion-cchi, I couldn't help but to stay worried for the two of you." Eina said. "Do you know what happened with her during the Monsterphilia?"_

"_Eh? What actually happened? I didn't notice anything since I was busy with that big gorilla thing."_

"_Just like you encountering a Minotaur on your first days. She encountered a monster that is equivalently strong as a Level 4 or 5, and worse than you, she attempted to battle it."_

"_Eh, she did?"_

"_Yes. She didn't tell you about that? Didn't you notice that part of her body was covered in bandages?"_

"_Ano, she told me it was just a minor injury so I didn't really worry about it."_

"_She told you that? Minor injury my foot…" Eina said, grumbling. "Though, back to the topic at hand. I think despite you're having a party with another adventurer, it wouldn't hurt for both of you to hire a supporter for your party."_

"_A…supporter?"_

"_Basically someone helping you in the dungeon." Eina said. "They would keep the drop items for you, or supported you with the monster slaying. You can also hire them as a helping hand for storing your potions or something. In short, they are like a part of your party, but was tasked as support, like their name."_

"_I see…well, I'll keep that in mind, Eina-san_. _Once again, thanks for today!"_

* * *

The white-haired boy couldn't help but to think about the offer.

"A Supporter, huh? Might as well discuss about it with Alva tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: This might be the last A/N with such detailed format. From the next chapter and beyond, I'll be putting only short A/N's just for formal intro and outro. I was criticized and I learned from Reddit that this kind of A/N's are pretty unnecessary. But I'll keep answering your reviews if I could. But I'll be PM-ing you guys instead, probably.**

**Please R&R! Constructive reviews and critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	11. Angel Form and Loki Familia

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 10: Angel Form and Loki Familia**

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"Who are you? What business do you have here?"

Oh great, I miss you, hospitality.

So, after all the commotion with Welf, I decided to stick with my original plan to visit a certain very strong Familia. Whilst I made a good acquaintance with one of their mages, who seemed like a friendly elven girl, it wouldn't always apply to everyone in the Familia.

Like Goddess Hephaestus had said, Loki Familia is one of the strongest Familia in the entire Orario. The fact that their young prodigies are very strong as I witnessed a few days ago partially proved it.

And with their strong status, I wouldn't deny if most of the guys are boastful. And this one was just another example.

A bad example, actually. But what did you expect from guards, anyway?

Yep, if you still hadn't got it, I was situated here in front of the gate, and not even ten meters close, the guards already stopped me with that rude question.

If there's one thing that was now challenged from me, is to suppress the emotion and to be as humble and polite as possible. Raised in a high-positioned Familia, and being taught strictly by an Angel herself, behavior is one important aspect in my life.

Though, I had to admit, I could get carried away too easily.

"Pardon my sudden intrusion. My name is Alva from Hephaestus' Familia. I was here because Goddess Loki once invited me for a visit a few days ago."

The guards changed a look of suspicion, before one of them finally spoke up. "Okay, you stay here with the girl, I'll try to tell Loki about the visit."

Thus one of the guards stayed near me, and the other one entered the manor. I didn't know it's just my feeling or not, but I felt like the guard is looking…no…glaring at me.

The gaze was intimidating, as expected for a guard of Loki Familia. Even when I composed myself and looked back towards the guard, embellishing myself with a smile, the guard is not even flinching. This guard is very rigid.

The silence was very uncomfortable. The guard's rigidness just stayed intimidating. Maybe this was why the manor seemed like it could stay safe.

Lucky for me though, the other guard just exited the manor and rejoined the two of us

"Alright, Goddess Loki's been expecting you. Please follow that guy over there." The guard pointed on a young man with spiky black hair and was wearing a kind of light armor, just like someone I know.

"Alva, was it?" The young man said. "Please follow me."

The man sounded a bit nervous, but could retain his composure. For once I could actually saw my younger self there, genderbent of course.

Yup, I used to be shy when I was younger, and sometimes at a few occasions I could also unintentionally show it too, but mostly I was being like you had seen.

Apparently when we're on the way to the room, there are three figures that are staying on the living room, at least according to my guess. The three figures turned to be all females, and, if my eyes were working right, consisted of three different races too: One is a human, at least she resembled a pure human, but who knows?, with braided black hair and reddish eyes which are covered in glasses. She wore a purple light armor. Another one is a human-like girl but has cat ears on her head, and at one of the sides of her head, I could see the lack of human ears, thus making her a real cat girl. She had black hair and black eyes and was wearing a black top that surprisingly still hid her cleavage, despite having her shoulder and collarbone totally exposed. And the last one is an elf with long orange-ish…hair…and…wait a minute…

"Hey, Raul, is that Loki's guest?" The cat girl was the one to ask. But before the man in front of me could answer, another one of them beat him to it.

"Ah, Alva-_san_! You made it!" The elf suddenly shouted. Oh, of course she was familiar. In fact we did know each other.

"Hello, Lefiya-_san_!" I greeted.

"Y-You two know each other?" The man in front of me asked, surprised.

"Yes, we did. She was the one helping us back when we're battling that snake/plant thing at the Monsterphilia."

"Yes, I did, but in the end, you're…"

"Don't say that again, Alva-_san_, it's embarrassing." Lefiya blushed, interrupted my speech, earning giggles from the cat girl and the human girl near her. "Anyway, if Loki was expecting you, then you should get going then." She said.

"Alright." Alva said, and the man, identified by the cat girl as Raul, continued to escort me towards a certain room. And after a little formal warning from the man, he opened the door for me.

To say that the sight amazed me might be an understatement. As the door opened, I was greeted by a room dominated with shines coming from the spotless colors of gold. Antique bookshelves were also placed around the room and the antique furnitures decorated the vast space.

As per the living beings, there were several figures waiting inside too. One that I immediately recognized is the short red-haired lean-built female which of course turned out to be Goddess Loki. She was sitting behind a set of antique table and chair pair. On the couches sat three different figures, one is a very young-looking blonde, abnormally short-statured boy that reminds me of Yuichiri's (Wood Spirits/Wood Elves), but instead of elvish, he looked more onto a young human. Though with that abnormal stature, I could guess that hidden inside it is a mature man with indomitable authority.

Another one is a stocky-looking figure with thick brown facial hair and a helmet. His stocky figure reminded me of Tsubaki, but much stockier than her. That might actually make him a pure dwarf since Tsubaki's a half-dwarf.

And finally, the last figure is a mature green-haired woman with a very-pointed ears that reminds me of my father's elven wife. The difference is that from the ears, I could tell that her race is one of the high elven ones, or elves that had a tinge of royalty. That's according to what she taught me about elves, anyway. Nevertheless, her authority aura seems so strong that I could actually tremble in awe. Though when her face softened up, I finally sighed in relief.

The situation felt very tense, especially when I realized that the figures' stares are much more intimidating than the guards in front, well, it had to be expected anyway. Nevertheless, the tenseness quickly died down when Goddess Loki greeted me in such a cheery way.

"Oh, seems like you made it successfully here, half-angel." Loki greeted me as she stood up from her chair and seemed like she approached me. "I haven't gotten a good look on you…hehe… but you do seem to have…ouch!"

A staff immediately found the Goddess' head. I realized it was indeed one hit by the high-elf. "You're scaring our guest, Loki." She said before bowing a little towards me. "I'm sorry for our Goddess' behavior."

"Ah…ahahaha…it's okay." I replied with a little smile and sweatdrop. The antics sounded quite different between me with Hephaestus-_sama_ and these figures with Loki-_sama_. "Though, if I may request, Loki-_sama_, I think it would be better to call me by my name instead of half-angel, since I'm a bit uncomfortable about that." I said before bowing down.

"My name is Alvaretta Dion, usually called Alva, and I am a member of Hephaestus' Familia." I introduced myself to the members there. "And, I am honored to receive an invitation from the Goddess of one of the strongest Familia of Orario. You had my praise." I said, bowing down again.

"Rise up, Alvaretta Dion." Instead of the goddess, it was the shorter blonde man who answered me. "I am amazed by your humbleness. But we're all adventurers and we respected each other, don't look down on yourself." He said.

"Way to go on taking my words out of my mouth, Finn." The high-elf replied curtly.

"Ahahaha…pardon me, Riveria." He replied again. "Anyway, of course it wouldn't be fair and polite if you're the only one who introduced yourself. As fellow adventurers, it would be thoughtful to get to know each other well." Finn said. "My name is Finn Deimne, I'm an adventurer and the captain of Loki Familia."

"While you might saw him like a young human boy, he's actually a 42-years-ol' Pallum, and a single one at tha' too." The stocky figure interjected, earning a sharp glare from the said blonde and the high-elf.

"That's rude, Gareth…"

"Haha! I'm joking there…" he said. "Anyway, I'm Gareth Landrock, adventurer of Loki Familia. Had a contract with yer captain too, if you wanna know."

"Eh, Tsubaki?" I asked.

"Tsubaki Collbrande, your captain, formed a smith contract with him." The high-elf explained. Oh right, come to think of it, I heard once from Eina-_san_ during one of her lectures that as a Blacksmith, I had the choice to form a contract with another adventurer, that means also supplying the adventurer with a handmade weapon exclusive between the two of them. So Tsubaki had a contract with a member of one of the strongest familia of the city? That's cool.

"And finally, I'm Riveria Ljos Alf, adventurer of Loki Familia and also a mentor for Lefiya Viridis, I assume you did know her, right?"

I nodded.

"And of course I have to introduce myself, riiight?" A cheery voice of the Goddess cracked the calmness of the situation.

"No." The high-elf spat.

"Rude!" The goddess protested. "Just like you've known, I'm Loki, head of this familia. Nice to meet you, Alva." Loki introduced, albeit instead of politely, she said it in a carefree manner. "So, I am pleased that you did answer my invitation."

"Thank you, Loki-_sama_." I said, before actually asking something. "Though, I don't want to be rude, but may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"May I know about the reason why I am invited to the place where one of the strong Familia resides, given that you actually know I belong to another Familia?"

"Ah, of course, of course." Loki-_sama_ replied again in a carefree manner. "So, first of all, we would like to formally thank you for your aid in the Monsterphilia a few days ago."

"I heard from Lefiya that you protected her from the creature's blows." Riveria said. "You had my thanks for protecting my student."

"Uh, to be honest, I was a bit late at that time. Lefiya had already been struck down with the creature, and what I did was to block so that she didn't receive further damage." I said. "Though, you're welcome, Riveria-_sama_."

"Once again, you didn't have to address me with -_sama_, since we were all adventurers." She said with a soft smile. "Though, if we may, why don't we just cut down to business?"

"Business?"

"No, more like getting to know more about each other." Finn said. "If I could start, I would like to apologize for our rudeness."

"Eh?"

"Prior to our meeting, we did study about you, or specifically, your race." Finn continued. "We didn't intend to do anything wrong, it was all out of curiosity. Hopefully you forgive us for our indecent act."

That…was unexpected…

No, not the fact that they studied about my race, I expected that, or at least, Hephaestus-_sama_ expected that. But rather, the humbleness shocked me. Considering their status as a part of the strong Familia, one of them even taking the position of a captain, he was way too humble for one. But it was not necessarily bad, rather, it actually was a very good quality of a captain.

Though, the fact that they did study about my race still made me a bit overwhelmed.

"I-It's okay." I said. "I knew I was a bit different around here, after all. Half-Angels are practically a very rare breed, at least that's what my mother taught me."

"Well, considering the risks your mother/father had to take, I would agree with him/her." Loki said, before she explained what she had gotten from their researches. About the angel's pact that was impossible for most angels, the risk they had to take, and the aftermath of it. "What type of Archangel is your mother/father, by chance?"

"My mother is an Apsael, I didn't actually understand about what it is so sometimes I didn't consider it too much." I said. "Is there any correlation between that?"

"Yes, a big one, even." Loki said. "Like I said before, the pact is available only for low-ranked angels. If your mother is an Apsael, that means your mother is Rank 8, which means the pact is very possible to be applied."

"But that means your mother has lost a lot of her divine powers too." Riveria added. "However, since she was low-ranked, she could still retain her angel form and avoid inversion."

"That…I had never known about that." I said. I really had never known that my mother actually had lost a lot of angelic powers since she had given birth to me, no, much before that, it should be even she decided to marry my father, since marriage between a pure Angel and a human sounded impossible as well.

It feels weird that other people knew more about my race than myself, seriously.

"And one other thing, I guess you might be reluctant to, but, is it possible for you to show us your angel form?"

.

.

Wait…what?

"A-Angel Form? H-How did you know about that?"

"That is a congenital magic of half-angels who were born from that pact." Riveria said. "I assume from your reaction that you know about it."

I nodded in fear. These guys knew me a bit too much that it made me afraid.

"U-Uh…"

"Well, we won't force you, it was your choice anyway." Finn assured me.

I began to rethink what Goddess Hephaestus had said. I actually needed to be aware of Goddess Loki. But, knowing that I gained their trust and their hospitality, and the fact that they already knew even when I wanted to hide it, I didn't really have a choice. Moreover, with me befriending one of their Familia members, I don't think it would do too much harm.

"A-Alright."

Since I was not in a dire strait of HP, I needed a chant. Thus I positioned my hands down, and…

"Wait, is it really okay if I did it here? I mean, I hardly ever done this." I said. "I never knew how much damage would I cause…"

"Don't worry." Loki said. "And rest assured, you will not damage anything, well, at least not any of the stuffs here. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, you might want to prepare yourself, though."

The three nodded. Positioning themselves in a stance, they braced themselves as I decided to start.

"_The Highest Order of the Sanctuary, below Thy feet I stand."_

The blinding light that's not strange to me begin to appear. To be honest, this is the first time after a few years that I used this chant. The last time was triggered upon emergency life-dire situation. The three flinched but they didn't cover their eyes.

"_With the spear of justice and the armor of hope, I call upon myself to beseech Thee, standing beneath Thee."_

The intensity of the light was getting higher, and I could feel my back became very cold, a sign that I knew too well. The light's color changed from pure white to a sort of crystallized sky blue, which also marked one thing: my wings had emerged.

"_offering Thee our service, as a part of our duty,"_

The blue armor started to form around me, and the golden spear materializes on my right hand.

"_as the warriors of the Heavens, to protect the Light."_

And with that, my wings, spear, and blue armor finally were solidified. While the chant is already over and my form has already appeared, the light didn't die down, as a part of them.

"That is…" Finn was the first to speak.

"The 8th rank warden of Tenkai, with the spear of justice and the armor of hope." Loki said. "Apsael Archangel."

"To see such a being directly in front of me. No words can describe how I felt." Riveria added.

"Mm…" Gareth just mumbled, probably speechless.

While I could retain my sanity and consciousness, I felt fatigue started to rush inside my body, and the light that has been surrounding me started to flicker a little while.

"Alva girl, you can stop your transformation now. No need to force yourself." Loki said. Hearing the cue, I begin to de-transform chantlessly.

"Riveria, don't forget what I asked you to do."

"I understand, Loki."

As the de-transformation took place, I noticed that Riveria was readying her staff as well.

And finally after a while, the de-transformation was finished and I was back to my "human-mode", but suddenly felt weak as my legs started to get wobbly.

All of a sudden, Riveria closed in on me, I could see that her lips were continuously moving, as she was actually chanting something.

"_Luna Aldis!_"

And somehow, I felt a surge of energy going through me and the wobbling on my legs stopped.

* * *

"Uh…I'm sorry for troubling you, R-Riveria."

"It's okay. Loki had already known about this. I'm just doing what she had told me." Then our eyes turned into Loki, who was looking at me seriously, or that's what I thought.

"You know, you looked very cute in your Angel Form." She smiled, causing me to blush for a bit, but at the same time earning a glare from Riveria.

"Loki…"

"Okay, gosh…you're no fun, Riveria." Loki laughed. "So, I understood now."

"Eh?"

"My guess was right, the holy power on your Angel Form was just as I expected." Loki said. "It was pure holy, but the intensity is pretty low. That's why it flickers blue instead of golden, am I right, Alva?"

"Eh…my mom's wings shine a bit on the golden side. I thought it didn't mean anything."

"Well, at least now you know." Loki smiled. "Well, since we had witnessed your ability, I guess we had to take responsibility as well. That's why, I think Riveria wanted to request to you about something."

Riveria then stepped forward.

"We will keep all of this a secret, we swear under the name of our Familia. But I would like to request something as well."

"Well, as long as it was not something I couldn't do, then it should be fine."

"Then…" Riveria spoke again. "Since you had made quite an acquaintance with my student, Lefiya, Would you mind if you became her training partner?"

That offer sounded a bit weird, coming from Loki Familia. At the same time, I knew this is a rare offer, to train with one of their members.

But then, I still had my job as an adventurer. I still have Bell to worry about, and then also my duties as a blacksmith too. And then…gosh, there are lots of things to worry about.

That being said, however, I did find a temporary solution.

"I will, on several conditions, if you don't mind…"

* * *

**-Timeskip-**

**-The next day-**

I was on my way to the dungeon entrance, where Bell should be waiting. We had agreed to go on another adventure down the dungeon again.

And well, just as I expected from the white-haired boy from Hestia Familia (I finally learned about it from that incident), he had been waiting there.

"Hey, Alva-_san_!"

"Cranel-_san_, you're early." I said, smiling.

"Ahahaha…I'm getting too used to it." He replied. "Though, if I may, can I ask you about something?"

"Sure, why?"

"What do you think about an idea of having a supporter in our party?"

"A…supporter?" I said, dumbfounded.

"Well, Eina-_san_ told me yesterday. Basically a supporter is…"

"It's okay, I know what a supporter is, Cranel-_san_." I interrupted. "I just didn't know why you're thinking of having one. And seemed like I got my answer." I sighed. "Eina's worried too much about us."

"Ahahaha, I know."

"Hey! Mister! Mister! You with the white hair!" Suddenly a sound appeared behind us. Both of us turned to see a short-statured girl with a small build, which reminds me of Finn Deimne from the Loki Familia.

"Hello, mister! Sorry to bother you, but are you looking for a supporter?"

* * *

**A/N: A little adjustment in this story: Luna Aldis is a healing spell, and heals HP according to DanMemo, but in this story, it was converted to a healing spell which heals both HP and Mind(MP).**

**Please let me know if this chapter is okay or not. I myself am actually a bit reluctant about this story, especially with her showing her angel form in front of Loki Familia. Did you think this could make a good idea? Or should she actually keep it a secret from them? Please tell us your opinion!**

**Kage**


	12. Supporter and a Planned Expedition

**Tales of Angelic Alchemist in Orario**

**Chapter 11: Supporter and a Planned Expedition**

* * *

"Are you looking for a supporter?"

The two adventurers had a surprised look on their face. For the blonde girl, that's because that question was a moment of 'speak of the devil' due to the fact that the two of them were just discussing about getting a supporter, while for the boy, it was because he was sure he had seen her somewhere.

"Hey…err…aren't you?"

"What's the hard part? I'm just a poor supporter who wants to pick through an adventurer's leftovers is advertising her services."

'The way she put herself was miserable. Should that how a supporter be?' Alva thought for a moment. Well she's not exactly wrong about that. Even though she was a new adventurer and the term "Supporter" was not exactly something she was clear about, she knew that the depiction of a supporter according to the "little girl" was a bit terribly horrific.

"T-That's not it…I mean, you're the Pallum girl from yesterday, right?" Bell asked

'From yesterday? Oh wait, I was in Loki Familia's Manor so I didn't know.' Alva thought. Though, the girl's reply was surprising the two adventurers.

"Pallum?" The little girl asked, confused? "Lili is an animal person, a Chienthrope, in fact." She said again as she opened her hood, revealing a pair of dog ears.

To the party's shock, Bell just approached the girl…

And touched the ears!

"Cranel-_san_, what are you…?" Alva tried to stop him but it was too late, as his hand finally touched and caressed one of the girl's, eventually named Lili's, ears.

"You're right, you're not a pallum…"

"Ah….Aahhh~ _Onii-san_!" Lili moaned as she trembled on her legs because of the surprising shock.

"Cranel-_san_, please release your hand, she didn't seem to be comfortable about that." Alva interjected. Bell, hearing the warning, immediately saw the "chienthrope"'s face flushing and in a grave discomfort, and thus he immediately pulled back his hand.

"S-Sorry! I guess I was mistaken." Bell apologized. "Then, let's move to that fountain so we can talk more, Lili."

The three then decided to move towards the fountain. Lili's eyes, however, glared at the blonde girl that was with her, for some reason…

'I didn't remember meeting her yesterday. Why was she with this adventurer? In this case, everything could be for naught! I need to do something. But first…'

* * *

"So, Lili, I am Bell Cranel, and this is Alva, my party comrade. Nice to meet you, Lili." Bell introduced.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Lili-_san_." Alva added.

"Li-Liliruca Arde. P-Pleased to meet you too, Bell-_sama_, A-Alva-_sama_." Lili replied, the last part with a forced smile.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about, Liliruca?" Bell asked.

"W-Well, you looked like you're adventuring alone, since it's rare to see an adventurer with a backpack." Lili said before looking down. "But, I didn't notice that you had formed a party, even though it was two-man party of two adventurers with backpacks…"

"I see…" Bell said. "Well, we did form a party, but that doesn't mean we're a full-team. And, I think I just heard you saying that you're advertising yourself to be a supporter."

"Y-Yes." Lili said. "I was…but I didn't think you'll hire a supporter like me, since you're already forming a party…"

"On the other hand." Suddenly Alva interjected, causing the two other people to look at her. "We ARE looking for a supporter."

"Eh? R-Really?" Lili asked with a sudden cheerfulness.

"Yes, she was right. We are indeed looking for a supporter. Lili."

Lili's smile grew wider. "T-Then, would you take me? I'm so poor…I…don't know if I've got enough to get by on right now…" Then she blushed fiercely while looking down too. "And having a boy touch something so important to me…You need to take responsibility, don't you?"

"U-Uh…"

"Well, I have to agree with her, Cranel-_san_." Alva smirked. "That's why you gotta watch your hand next time."

"A-Alright then, sorry once again. But okay, for now, you can be our supporter for the day." Bell said while smiling.

"T-Thank you!"

"Then, we should go to the Dungeon now." Bell said, before noticing that something was different from Alva. More precisely, something was different on her back.

"Alva-_san_…that spear on your back, was it just me or does it look a bit…different?"

"Oh, this one?" Alva asked, taking the spear from her back. "How do you know if it was different?"

"_A-ano…_it's just my guess, it seemed a little more…brighter…"

"Ah, well…you got a sharp eye." Alva said. "This is another spear that I made a few days ago. This one will help me to deal with the war shadows on Floor 6."

"Whoa, but…how exactly does it help?"

"Well, since shadows are monsters with Dark Element. I made this spear to be embedded with Light Element." Alva explained. "Thus, all my attacks will be Light-Elemental."

"_Sugoi_…" Bell said. "I never knew you can do that."

"Well, you never asked. And it was actually nothing. I believe most blacksmiths out in Orario can do better." Alva said humbly, or actually humbly lying. Who knows? "Though, there's one problem with it."

"What is it?"

"I can't let out Void Railguns with this spear, so…can I count more on your help? And…" Alva's eyes now directed towards Lili. "Since we've got Lili-_san_ to support us too, I know all of us will be fine."

'Tch…' Lili didn't seem to appreciate what Alva had said, but she decided not to push it further. After all, her mind is occupied with something else…

**Lightray Spear**

**Durability: ****69****5/****69****5**

** : ****72**

** : 1****04**

**Abilities:**

**-****Light**** Element****: Deals more damage to Dark-Elemental targets, but deals less damage to Light-Elemental and Thunder-Elemental targets**

**-****Lightray: While wielding the weapon, user had higher chance to resist abnormalities caused by a Light-Elemental and Thunder-Elemental targets.**

**-Magic: ****Lumen Remedium****: ****Mid****HP Heal on a single target. Damages the target if the target is of the Undead/Devil race.**** MP Cost: ****Medium****.**** Needs short chant:**

'_**May the light cleanse you from all the chaos inside. **__**Lumen Remedium!**_

**(In Angel Mode: Lumen Remedium's effect changes to High HP Heal on an area, High MP Cost which scales with the amount of target healed.)**

* * *

-In the Dungeon-

"Bell-_sama_! Your back!"

"Hrg!" Bell was taking a clean hit from one of the lizardmen on his back. Thankfully with his agility, he managed to retaliate in no problem and split the skull area of the monster, turning it into dust and dropping the magic stone.

"_Sugoi_, Bell-_sama_!" Lili said cheerfully.

"Ahahaha…it's nothing, really. I'm just used to it, that's all." Bell replied.

"Ah, look! More monsters incoming! Alva-_sama_ is in trouble!" Lili said, pointing at the blonde girl, who is repelling a combination attack of three lizardmen, in the defensive position.

"Oh, right, of course." Bell said before quickly moved towards the lizardmen and slashed all three.

"Nice work, Cranel-_san_, and thank you." Alva said. "Though, are you okay? I thought I saw a few bruises on you."

"I-It's nothing, just a few miscalculations on my part." Bell said.

"Sorry, Cranel-_san_. Being unable to conjure Void Railgun limited my attack options, and I had to rely on you more."

"It's okay, Alva-_san_."

"Oh, and Lili-_san_." The blonde girl turned towards the chienthrope, startling her instantly. "Are you okay? Any bruises need healing."

"No thank you. And please call me with just Lili, I don't need anyone to call me with honorifics." She said with a little hint of disapproval. For a few hours, Lili's reaction to Alva was, if not, bitter and a bit hostile.

Alva didn't seem to know that, though,

or did she?

"Okay then, if you say so, Lili." Alva's attention now turned to Bell. "Stay still, Cranel-_san_."

"What are you doing, Alva-_san_?"

"I may not be able to conjure Void Railgun with this spear, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything with it."

She then positioned her spear so that the spear was standing on the ground, with her right-hand gripping on it, just like a classic spearman pose, and raised her hands forward, on the direction of Bell. Then she began to chant.

'_May the light cleanse you from all the chaos inside_. _**Lumen Remedium**__!_'

All of a sudden, Bell's body was covered in a light pillar. Bell was shocked, but he noticed that his wounds started to heal while being enveloped in it. After a few seconds, the pillar was lifted off.

"A-A healing spell!" Bell said. "Sugoi, Alva-_san_!"

"I'm glad to hear that. But that doesn't mean I can conjure it as many times as I want, okay." Alva said. "Please be more careful."

"I understand."

"Hey, I should be the one to say that to you too!" Lili suddenly exclaimed. Although with that hostility, Alva just snickered as it actually hit home, even though it was not Bell who said it.

"You're right, Lili. I had to be careful too. Thanks for caring." She smiled.

"Hmph!" which was responded with a mock pout…

* * *

**-Alva's PoV-**

"Bell-_sama_ is so strong!"

"Woah, he just tore through all that monsters."

"Well done, Bell-_sama_!"

And so on.

Apparently, Lili was so infatuated of Cranel-_san_'s ability. The fact that Lili kept praising him was a proof of it.

He was getting more cautious too. I need to conjure only another two amounts of Lumen Remedium to heal him in the past hundreds of monsters. At one point that made me happy and proud, while at another point that made me jealous as well: He's improving so quickly himself.

Though, amongst all of everything that happened today, I couldn't understand one thing…Why did Lili seem to hate me? Did I say something wrong to her? Did I do something that hurt her? I really wanted to apologize but looking at her face, which looked happy seeing my comrade there, I could only save it for myself later as I didn't want to ruin that happy face.

Or…too late…when she noticed that I looked at her, her face changed into a glaring anger.

"_Nani_?"

"No, it's nothing." I said.

"Huff…that's a load of monsters we defeated today." Bell said. "I guess we can call it a day, huh?"

Call it a day, so the day was almost reaching its end, eh. Come to think of it, didn't I have something to say too.

"Hey, Cranel-_san_?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to the dungeon tomorrow?"

"Well, possibly, but why?" He asked in confusion.

"Um-I'm sorry to say, but I might not be going with you for the next few days."

"E-Ehh?" His face was changed into a shocked and frowning face, while suddenly I saw Lili's face brightened a little. "W-Why, Alva-_san_?"

"I've promised on some training with another friend of mine. It would be around three or four days. Then I would be joining you again after that. I'm really sorry, but is it okay?"

I saw his face saddened a little, but then it was replaced with a smile.

"It's okay. After all, we still got Lili too, right? I knew she'll be of a good help."

"Then, Lili." I said, this time not caring if she tried to ignore me or not. "I'll leave Cranel-_san_ in your care, okay?"

To my surprise (or is it obvious?), she smiled in contentment and then grinned.

"Okay, I will!"

"Then, I'll see you in four days, Cranel-_san_." I said as I tapped his shoulder. "You too, Lili."

"_Hai_! Alva-_sama_." Lili grinned.

Though, unnoticed by me, the girl's grin changed into a devious smirk.

* * *

After walking quickly towards the guild, I decided to change all my magic stones, which hits more than usual thanks to Lili for helping with the storing load. And then I bought some food for dinner and took off back to the Manor.

Tomorrow would be the first day I'll be training with Loki Familia, specifically, with Lefiya…

* * *

"_Terms, huh?" Finn said. "May we hear it."_

"_Well, as you can see, I am also an adventurer myself, and also a member of an adventure party. Moreover, since I'm a member of Hephaestus' Familia, I did have my own duties and work as a Blacksmith on the daily queue. So, there wasn't actually a lot of time for the training. Though, that doesn't mean I rejected your request, it's just, I couldn't just be available every day and every time." I said._

"_Fair point." Riveria said. "I might be a bit selfish there, but I understand. I could just ask your help only once a few days, maybe once every three or four days or even once every week. After all, I couldn't just shirk part of my duty to someone else." Riveria smiled. "Though, for the next few days, may I be allowed to be selfish?"_

"_Um?"_

"_Lefiya is training one of her prepared magic for our next dungeon expedition." Finn added. "I'm afraid that if we didn't train her often, she couldn't master it in time. So, if we may, can we ask for your help for three or four days in a row, just this once? And then we'll stick with the once every four/five days agreement. And don't worry, we'll pay you for your troubles."_

_Well, it is not actually because of the duties itself. I mean, if I accepted this proposal, that means Cranel-san will be adventuring alone for a few days, and that means no one will cover him. Knowing his nature, I was actually worried._

_Well, I'm not in the place to say that…_

_But, this training could actually be an opportunity to train myself as well, especially since these Loki Familia members proposed all of these after they saw my Angel Form. Knowing that they were said to be one of the strongest Familia in the city, I knew this proposal is not without reason._

_Especially after Riveria…or maybe I should call her Riveria-sama due to her status as a high elf…healed me. She said that Loki knew that might happen. That means Goddess Loki had already researched this part of me too._

_While I was a bit uncomfortable with people studying me and my race, but judging at this proposal, I could hazard a few guesses…either they were very kind to let me overcome that problem with my angel form, or they had something suspicious on their back, and intended to use me for their benefit._

_Though, it's not the time to be paranoid, and just go with the flow. I'd have to keep having positive thoughts, as per gaining their trust and to honor my sudden acquaintance with Lefiya._

"_One more, may I know a little more about this training? I understood that Lefiya-san is a mage. Thus, are we talking about magic training here?"_

"_Pretty much." Riveria said. "But I'll also slip in a few defensive and physical training too, since you couldn't know what awaits you in a dungeon, right?"_

"_Fair point. Though, may I bring my own weapons and armors too, for several reasons?"_

_Finn was deep in thought, and so do Riveria-sama as she looked at the pallum, then signed something, something related to thumb or whatever it is, for as much as I know, and then followed by a sideway nod. Then, Riveria turned back and faced me _

"_As much as we tried to forbid it. I believe you have your own reasons for it. Well, as long as it was for training purposes, I think you may."_

_I smiled and sighed in relief, then looked at her and the group in determination._

"_Okay, deal." I said. "I'll help."_

"_Wonderful choice." Finn said. "So, Riveria?"_

"_Alright. Tomorrow I'll be preparing Lefiya with some of my teachings and preparations, so we could probably start the day after tomorrow."_

"_I'm in the same point, I guess?" I replied. "Then I'll have time to inform my party comrade so that he won't be surprised."_

"_Then, it's settled." Gareth finally added after a long silence. Maybe that transformation of me had shocked him for a while there?_

"_Is there something else you would like to speak about?"_

"_No, we're done. Thank you for your time and sorry to drag you for too long." Finn remarked._

"_Ie…it's okay." I said. "After all, I'm just fulfilling an invitation that I didn't turn down."_

"_One more thing, though." Loki said, suddenly standing up and began to approach me, with her hands open and wiggling…I had a bad feeling about this._

"_Can I come for that boot-ugh!" Suddenly a staff again meets her head. _

"_Not again, Loki!" Riveria scolded, then turned to me and bowed in apology. "Please forgive my indecent Goddess."_

"_A…Ahahaha…" I sighed…seems like it would be a long four days onwards…_

* * *

That being said, when I say I'm bringing my own weapons and armors, I'm not suggesting it for no reasons at all. In fact, it was situational.

I had three spears in my possession: Holy Spear, Lightray Spear, and Omni Spear. My fourth spear, the golden one named Stasia Lance a.k.a Stasia Spear wouldn't appear if I was not in Angel Form, but I know that one day, Riveria-_sama_ will ask me to turn into one again.

But it was irrelevant with the topic at hand.

What is relevant is the fact that the three spears covers three different purposes.

My Omni Spear, albeit unstable, was my offensive spear, with Void Railgun as the infused magic.

My Lightray spear was my support spear, with Lumen Remedium as a healing spell for the support of my team.

My Holy Spear was the one I won't bring to the dungeon due to warnings from Hephaestus-_sama_ and Eina-_san_, but actually worked as a buff/debuff spear. It held two magic spells instead of one like the other two spears, in which one magic served to buff the spearholder while the other one served to debuff the target.

The reason I said that I'll bring my own weapons is more like, I was covering all four possible conditions on a battle: When you were in the offensive, when you're in the supportive, when you're buffed and when you're being put on a debuff (defensive). The fact that I lacked any weapon-independent magic could only permit me to use all three simultaneously, and trust me, it would be a hard work.

Though, let's see what I'd face in the next four days.

* * *

When I went back, I saw Tsubaki sorting out something like a list on the living room. Being a "good" familia member, I decided to chime in for once.

"Hey, _captain _Tsubaki (not captain Tsubasa)." I called her.

"Oh…it's not usual for you to call me with captain. Are we being sarcastic here?" Tsubaki grinned.

"Well, suit yourself for any case." I said, before looking at the list. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? A request of a bunch of weapons for an expedition."

"An expedition?" Suddenly I remembered one of Finn's sentences.

"_Lefiya is training her prepared magic for our next dungeon expedition"_

"_Ano_, Tsubaki, about the expedition…are we talking about dungeon expedition by Loki Familia?"

That froze Tsubaki on the spot as she looked at me with an equally surprised face. "Yes, but how did you know?"

* * *

"I see, so that's how it is." Tsubaki said as I told her about the magic training with Lefiya. "Though, I am surprised that they apparently asked a help from a newbie adventurer to train with them."

"Yea…I'm sorry for being a newbie, okay?" I said sarcastically. "I think that's probably because I helped them in the monsterphilia, but I didn't think I helped enough, since in the end it was the mage herself who defeated the monsters."

"Well, they certainly didn't expect a Level Two to suddenly rushed and helped them there, and knowing your foolishness, they wanted to speak about it." Tsubaki laughed as I pouted.

"_Jodan-dayo_, Alva-_san_."

"Yeah, I know." I said.

"So, when did you start practicing with them?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Well, good luck with that. Hopefully you can come back alive, especially when I heard that their training regimen was very harsh."

I gulped, but tried to stay calm hearing that, though with her laughing while saying that, I just pouted.

"Gee…thanks for the support…"

**-To Be Continued-**


	13. A Little Mission to Seolo Forest

Chapter 12- An ooey-gooey little mission to Seolo Forest

**Warning: The Grimoire part is Skipped because there's nothing on that part differing from the canon in this fic**

* * *

**-Welf's PoV—**

Seven armors, three swords.

Each of those could be made in around six hours. That's sixty hours work time, equivalent to five days of work. In other words, within that five days of work, I should have made that ten equipment on my forge.

Well, that's how ideally it should go. Or at least, that's IF I did work on those five days.

At those days too, I should have been sitting on my forge, working on those pieces of equipment. I won't deny if I would end up being called holing up inside my forge again by yours truly Ms. Collbrande, at least they would've been effective days.

Thus, for me to sit in front of the said woman, inside HER forgery, and working on HER errand, that was completely out of my plan. While I didn't like working on someone's errand, hey, at least it was still 'working', it's better than doing nothing. What's more, she was the reason I did…wait…

No…she wasn't, there must be another reason why I agreed on this. But somehow, I didn't remember what it is…

"Welf, the large smelting stone, please."

Reluctantly I handed the stone to her, who was working on a spear which, from the look of it, was very powerful. Her client should've been a very high-class adventurer and a very rich one, if I must say. After I handed the stone, Tsubaki just grinned after saying thanks.

Okay, before any of you thought of something economically negative, I assure you that she let me enter her workshop by her consent, and despite her brash attitude, Tsubaki had tidied and hid most of her unneeded tools and documents that I wouldn't even dare to search for it. Thus, her secret was pretty annoyingly safe.

However, I assure you this, while Tsubaki is carefree and a bit socially annoying sometimes, she didn't let any of her guard down when she was working. It was true that she liked to talk, ask, and sometimes even tease, and that's even when we were working together like this. But, if you squinted, you wouldn't see any unprofessional mistakes on her current works-in-progress.

I just continued helping her by any way I could, while at the same time I occasionally attempted to think:

Why am I helping her in the first place?

* * *

**-Twilight Manor-**

Back at Loki Familia's mansion, two young girls were on the park bench, Riveria was near them and so do Finn.

"Lefiya, you're really something."

"D…Don't flatter me, Alva…" the elf replied with a blush. "I was merely applying what Riveria had taught me."

"Alva is right, though." Riveria said. "While you still had some miscalculations on your part, you had met my expectation. You should remember why I chose you as my apprentice, right?" She then turned towards the half-angel. "Additionally, though, you're also a bit different, Alva."

"Eh?"

"Not many blacksmiths or any other adventurers have high endurance against Magic. Most adventurers have high endurance but that is against Physical attacks. Your case, however, your resistance is mostly against Magic, judging from your body build and stance."

"And that's why you could actually endure the training against Lefiya." Finn said. "On the other side, however, we deeply apologize if we hurt you in some way…"

"No worries, Sir Deimne, I'm okay."

"You can just call me with Finn." The pallum replied, a bit astounded by the formality. "Anyway, today's training has finished, isn't that right, Riveria?"

"You heard him." Riveria added. "That marks our third practice day. Thank you for your great cooperation, Alva, and I saw improvement in you, Lefiya. Continue to do your bests."

"Thank you, Lady Riveria."

"Thank you, Ms. Riveria."

Riveria and Finn then left for the Manor, leaving the fairy-like elf and the half-angel, who stayed a little longer to take a bit more time for resting.

"Lady Riveria sure is harsh." Alva noted.

"Well, you tell me." Lefiya chuckled. "But, I guess she's like that for my sake too." Her face then looked upwards while she was deep in thought. "Had it not been her, I wouldn't have recognized my potential, I wouldn't probably reach this level and to stand my ground here as a part of Loki's Familia."

She paused for a while.

"All of us really consider Ms. Riveria as our mother figure, our life's natural guide during our "beginnings". The fact that she considered me to finally succeed her in the future had made me realize how much I am worth in front of her, and thus I won't say I like it, but I will say that I really deserve this harsh treatment."

"I see…" Alva replied, her face now showed a hint of awe. "Mother figure, huh?"

"How about you, Alva?" Lefiya replied. "How was your mother like?"

"My mother…" Alva began to copy what Lefiya had done before: looked upwards as she also was deep in thought.

"S…Sorry if I triggered some bad memories…"

"No…it's not that. It's just, when I listened to your story about Riveria, I realized how much it resembles my mother." Alva stated. "Maybe since Riveria is probably a High Elf, she is accustomed to elven attitudes or sort. My mother, however, is an Angel, thus her guidance and attitude will be a bit different, but they do share a lot of similarities."

"An angel, I wonder how parenting from an angel feels like…"

"Trust me, it was not that different. Although, considering their perspective about righteousness and the Order, you'll imagine a strict discipline and something close to it." Alva then continued as something dawned on her thoughts that made me smile. "Of course, you may imagine your situation with your Goddess, albeit much more intimate."

"I'll…try not to think about Loki when it comes to that." Lefiya chuckled with a drop of sweat on her temples. Surely, she had found Loki not to be the parental type of a Goddess, especially because of her relatively mischievous attitude.

But still…she is her Goddess, so she had to consider thinking about it.

The two continued to chat, before two other girls, apparently known by the two magic users, suddenly came towards them.

"Lefiya! Alva!" The one with the glasses greeted them, whom Lefiya greeted in return.

"Ah! Line! Aki!" Lefiya squealed.

"I saw Riveria and Finn entered the Manor. Looks like we did come at a good time." Aki smiled. "You two should've finished your training, right?"

"Yes, we have." Alva was the one who gave an answer.

"What are you two doing here?" Lefiya questioned.

"Finn gave us supporters a herb-scavenging task in Seolo Forest, you know, for our next expedition."

"Oh, the usual then." Lefiya chirped. "But Finn did say that we'll try going on deeper levels, right? That means we'll need a hefty number of herbs then."

"That's why we're gathering as much people as I can. Raul is also recruiting our other supporters too. The more the merrier, and more herbs we can gather." Aki explained.

"Count me in, then. Just let me ready myself, I'm still dirty from the practice." Lefiya gestured, before turning to Alva and then back to Aki. "Speaking of which, since we needed more people, why don't we ask Alva to join us too?"

"Eh, are you sure, Lefiya?" Alva asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, this is for your Familia's expedition. I don't think I should butt in, right?"

"On tha' contrary," suddenly a familiar dwarf entered the training field area, startling the group of four. "Tha' is okay. In fact, yer Familia had included themselves in our expedition, ya know?"

"G-Gareth!" Line was surprised

"Eh? Included ourselves?"

"I thought yer captain had told you." Gareth remarked.

"My captain?" Alva thought for a moment before she realized what had happened a few days prior. She remembered Tsubaki had explained that she's crafting weapons for Loki Familia's expedition. "Oh, yes, she did."

"Then, yer help is appreciated." Gareth grinned. "Jus' like lil' Aki said, the more the merrier, right? And ya all still young'ns, ya all will do very well, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Sir Gareth." Alva replied. "Then, may I join the scavenging mission?"

"You're very welcome to, Ms. Alva." Aki replied with a soft smile.

And with that being said, a party of Aki, Line, Lefiya and Alva, plus some more from Raul, was prepared for the expedition.

* * *

**-Meanwhile, In front of Babel-**

"It's been three days. I wonder if Alva is alright with her business." Bell thought as he waited in front of the dungeon entrance. "Now that I couldn't rely on her skills, I shouldn't act too rashly, since I didn't want to endanger Lili as well." He mumbled. "Speaking of which, where is Lili? Is she not here yet?"

A set of footsteps emerged from his back.

"Oh there she is…" he thought.

However, not a sign of any Pallum or Chienthrope around. Instead, somebody else is approaching him.

"Hey, you." Bell then turned to an adventurer that seemed a bit familiar…of course, he and Ryuu confronted the guy!

"Y-You're…"

"You're with that kid?" The man, known as Ged, talked to him, referring the kid as Lili, or so it seems.

"Yes, something the problem?"

"Then you must know something." He said.

"About what?"

"Don't try to fool me. Help me!" Ged asked before smirking. "We'll trap her together."

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the said white-haired adventurer as his face suddenly showed a hint of shock. "W-What?"

"Don't look at me like that." Ged continued to smirk. "You're after the money she's saved too, right? After all, we're both adventurers. Let's work together and get some cash from that useless pack mule."

The sentence triggered Bell for many reasons. First, that man told him to betray his supporter, and second, he called Lili a useless pack mule. That enough was the big reason he came up with such an enraged answer.

"No! Never!"

"Tch! Stupid kid!" Ged sneered before turning away.

"Master Bell…" This time a very familiar sound, and the sound he's been expecting finally emerged…albeit with such a saddened voice, which surprised the white-haired adventurer. "What are you and that adventurer talking about?"

"It's nothing, j-just a small talk." Bell lied, trying not to think about the proposal Ged had given him.

"It looked like a fight was going to come out! Are you okay, Master Bell?"

"It's okay, there's nothing to worry about." Bell said. "C'mon, let's go now."

Bell then let Lili go first. Unbeknownst to him, Lili's face changed into a sour look.

"I guess, it's time to say goodbye."

* * *

**-Seolo Forest-**

"Okay now…I know I am the leader for this scavenging mission, and I'm supposed to help you all with the scavenging and stuff. But at least explain to me." Raul said with a sweatdrop and a hand on his forehead. "Why am I the only male in this mission?"

"Why, you don't like it, Raul?" Aki teased with a giggle, before stepping closer to the High Novice, positioning herself beside him instead of behind him like the other girls. Currently the group consisted of Raul, who walked on the front of the group, and then Aki, who shifted from behind to beside the said man, and then Alva, Lefiya, Line and finally Alicia Forestlight, another elf from Loki Familia. Apparently Raul's getting the worst luck as he was only able to recruit Alicia for the mission, which add up to only six members in the group, and as Raul had said, he was the only male in the group.

"Consider yourself lucky to be able to accompany five beautiful girls for the mission." Aki giggled as she clung onto Raul's arm and purred, causing the High Novice to blush uncontrollably and the other adventurers to giggle, well except Alva, who was unused to the contact and blushed as well.

"Is this normal for Aki? I think I had never seen her like this."

"Of course you won't know since you only knew her for a few days." Alicia replied softly. "But it's not that usual anyway."

"Yes, Ms. Alicia is right." Lefiya said. "Aki was technically serious and calm. Only with Raul did she show a bit hint of playfulness."

"I think the fact that they enrolled together to this Familia might mark that their connection would probably date back as far as their childhood." Line added. "Even so we never really understand their relationship."

"P-Please stop talking about me and Aki, and Aki please let me go before everyone misunderstands us…" Raul pleaded at the giggling cat girl beside him.

"Hihihi…"

"Hey, Aki, I think you should really let him go." Alicia softly called out.

"Give me two reasons I should do that."

"First, Raul seemed uncomfortable. And second, we've arrived at the spot."

Aki then looked around and realized that they indeed had arrived at the designated spot, judging by the sheer amount of herb bushes and some low-level monsters.

The group quickly took their equipment and began scavenging for herbs. Alva was guided by Lefiya on how to get the herbs. Line and Alicia also did the same, while Raul and Aki guarded them by killing the monsters approaching the group.

"Careful, Alva. If you pulled it too hard, the herbs will be damaged." Lefiya warned as Alva tried to pull out one of the herbs that seemed like it was stuck on the soil.

"Ah, of course, sorry Lefiya." Alva apologized.

"It's okay, I'm just warning you. You did good for a first-timer, though." Lefiya complimented.

"Am I? W-Well, maybe that's because I had once done something similar back at my hometown."

"Ah, I see!" Lefiya replied. "And you really seem like you're enjoying it…"

"Ew! Yuck!" Suddenly a pair of exclamations startled the two as they quickly ran towards the adventurers, only to see Raul and Aki being surrounded by green and blue slime-like creatures.

"Green and Red Colorful slimes! What rotten luck…" Lefiya said as she registered the monsters surrounding the 'couple'. Alva stared at the group of monsters, before suddenly she recognized that the monsters looked…very familiar.

"Why did you say rotten luck, Lefiya?" Alva asked.

"The monsters surrounding them are the green and red versions of colourful slimes. They are Level 1 monsters with many colors. However green and red types of the monsters did not drop any magic stones. Instead, they will stick onto your sword or left a splotch of slime goo on the ground, and it's always disgusting to throw those slimes away." Lefiya explained. "That's why we hardly ever killed one, since it will be too much of a work to discard their remains."

"I see…" Alva said, usurping the knowledge from Lefiya about the slimes. Alva, however, knew better about the slimes, and the fact that the slimes were green and red only proved Alva's hypothesis about what those slimes might be. "Though, may I try something, I wanted to make sure about my thoughts about these slimes."

"Uh, what are you going to do?" Raul asked.

Alva stepped forward, nearing some of those slimes, and without hesitation, stabbed one of the green slimes, splotching the slime goo on the tip of her spear.

"What the- what are you doing?" Aki asked, dumbfounded.

"I have said to you that green slimes won't drop crystals!" Lefiya said. "Are you even listening to me?"

"It's okay, I have listened to you. In fact, this goo is what I'm looking for." Alva said, before reaching for the gooey slime on the tip, took a bottle from her backpack and put the slime inside it. After that, she shook the bottle repeatedly.

"Whoa…careful there, Alva!" Lefiya said. "What's with that shake anyway?"

Alva just smiled. "You'll see."

Alva continued to shake the content of the bottle, and after a while, the slime goo transformed into a liquid form with the same color.

"W-Whoa…" Lefiya was dumbstruck.

"Hmm, as I thought…" Alva mumbled. "I'm not actually foreign with these slimes."

"Care to explain, Alva?" Aki asked.

"Well, you guys called these slimes by colorful slimes. Actually, back in my hometown, we called these slimes by Putettos, and just like you said: green and red Puttetos drop green and red goo, while some other types drop colourful stones." Alva explained. "And, while you discarded the goo as you said, back in my hometown, green and red goo from the Putettos are useful for potion making."

"P-Potion making?" Lefiya asked. "Just like Perseus did?"

"I don't know about Perseus, who is he anyway?" Alva asked, confused.

"Oh, maybe we should introduce her to Alva someday." Aki said. "Anyway, what potions are you making with the goo?"

"Well, company secret?" Alva giggled, only to be replied by a glare from the three adventurers. "I'm joking. Back then, we used this goo to make health and mind potions."

"Y-You can make those potions from these yucky beings?"

Alva nodded.

"…Well that's unexpected." Aki said. "But still, they look disgusting…"

"I won't doubt you on that." Alva chuckled. "I guess, though, may I need your help on slaying these slimes? I'll be the one collecting the goo, don't worry."

And so the group of four defeated the slimes, with Alva collecting the two kinds of goo on two different containers she brought with her. Alva did say that she would brought a sample of the potion by the time she had made one in her workshop. She did offer them one of the liquidified raw goo since they had the same effects although weaker, only to be returned by a disgusted look from the three and a polite rejection.

By the time they finished, Alicia and Line had just finished scavenging herbs from another part of the forest.

"We've collected a lot!" Line chirped.

"Looks like they did grow up well…uh…why do you all look so pale?" Alicia asked in confusion.

"Uh…it's nothing." Lefiya dodged.

"Then, let's go back. Loki and the others might probably be waiting." Raul said. "And sorry for the sudden insult we showed you, Alva. It's just, we had never used to that before."

"Okay, no worries." Alva replied.

"Uh, what are you guys talking about?" Line asked in confusion.

"Long story."

* * *

**Sorry for the update to take so long! I had a lot of business to take care of. Especially this COVID-19 Pandemic had altered lots of my activities.**

**Anyway, A little clarification: Putettos are not Orario-endemic monsters. They are actually slime creatures from Kamidori. However, putettos could be found very easily in many places there, so I thought that I could insert them in Seolo Forest as well. That's just my idea, sorry if it sucks.**

**Next chapter, I'll cover Lili's and Bell's touching moments but with a little twist. I hope I can update quickly, but I can't guarantee a quick update since I had to update my stories stealthily…since some of my family members prohibited me from indulging fanfictions. **

**Moreover, I had replied all of your reviews for the last chapter since I had to give some clarification there too. Please remind me if I haven't done such to any of you reviewers of the previous chapter.**

**Please R&R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


	14. Pledge to Support

Chapter 13- Pledge to Support

-Alva's PoV-

After the exploration with the members of Loki Familia, I quickly made my way to my workshop and heated my forge, just a "ritual" every blacksmiths did when they wanted to start making equipment.

Well, for my case this time, it wasn't for that purpose, at least not for "those" kinds of equipment. You could say that it fell more onto the category of "consumables", especially after I heated the forge, I quickly put a small cauldron on it and poured the liquidified Putetto goo (which was already in liquid form courtesy of the shakings they received in my backpack during the trip back home) into it. Despite them already mostly liquidified, some chunks were still pretty gooey and sticky as they floated on the surface of the liquid.

Not a good sight, if I must admit. Now I really felt sorry for Lefiya and friends, especially Aki and Raul, who got a direct gooey contact from these slimy creatures.

But that's not even the worst part.

If one alchemist in Yuidora could name a problem of using Putettos as potion ingredient, they wouldn't name the texture or the "ooey-gooeyness" of the creature, it's more into what happened if the slime/liquid was heated.

Heating was very essential for us to transform the slimy goo into potion liquid, and further transforming it into consumable potions, thus we couldn't remove the step of heating them. However, it came with one great discomfort:

Odor.

Back in Yuidora, my father might know how to counter this by some other materials, but it wasn't available here in Orario, at least that's what I had thought.

Oh well, let's just face and forget about it.

Slowly after they were heated enough, the lumps started to liquidify as well, and the odor started to come out along with the smoke. I quickly took a cloth and wrapped it round my nose and mouth.

Well, I did expect this anyway, I did expect the odor to quickly spread throughout my room, making the smell of my room (plus my forge) to be equivalent to those rooms where they made compost out of animals' waste. Even I must admit, the cloth didn't actually do a very good job as some of the odor could still be smelled through it.

What I didn't expect, is that someone was in front of my room when the smell slowly seeped from the door towards the outside of my room.

*knock* *knock*

"Come i-wait, I'll open the door instead!" I quickly walked towards the door and opened it...only slightly for the reason so obvious...to find a very familiar red-haired annoying man who had his left hand covering his nose.

"This stinks! Gosh, did you pee yourself in your pants?"

"Does it smell like pee to you? And no, I know when I have to go to the bathroom, thank you very much." I replied sarcastically. Unbeknownst to me, Welf did actually take a peek at the inside of my room, and spotted the cauldron where I boiled the slimy goo.

"Oh, so Alva is not a succubus, but a witch?" He snickered.

"I was never a succubus, and why are you calling me a witch?"

"Oh come on, Alva, you know I am just joking." Welf laughed. "I was just thinking of you having a cauldron and creating some wicked potions, that's why I called you a witch."

"This coming from a man who named his armors "Pyonkichi", I'm starting to doubt if you're really a blacksmith or a bunny tamer."

"Dammit."

And again, both of us laughed as we roasted each other again. To be honest, I personally didn't dislike it. I mean, I felt my adventures here becoming more colourful with Welf's silly remarks. Oh, how I wish that didn't ever stop...

(so that I can roast him whenever I like XD).

"Oi, Alva."

"Yes?"

"I know that the smell is unbearable, but does that include a little smell of burning as well?"

"Yeah, I know the smell is...W...WHAT?"

I quickly turned to see that the cauldron already emits a darker smoke instead of the usual white.

"Curses..." I quickly stirred the cauldron a few times and took it off the forge. Well, at least it was still salvagable, but the potion might taste a little burnt...

"What the hell are you making in the first place?"

Well, no point in hiding...no scratch that...there WAS a point to hide it, you know, competitions, but judging from what I have heard from most citizens, no one from Hephaestus' Familia had ever tried potion making, it was the job of either Miach Familia or Diancecht Familia, like Mama Mia once said.

"Well, company secret?"

"Yeah, whatever." Surprisingly he was convinced. "Anyway, I had to go back to my room. See you later, Alva."

"See you later, Welf-_pyon_."

"Stop adding that word!"

I couldn't help but to giggle at that.

After he went back to his room, I took the liquidified and heated, slightly burnt what-is-supposed-to-be-a potion and tried drinking it. And just as I thought, it did taste burnt a little, but I felt my body began to feel refreshed. The potion was indeed still working. Thus I poured it into small containers and packed it into my adventurer's bag. All of a days' work, I suppose?

Well, not yet...I was a blacksmith, so I still needed to create some weapons and other equipment to sell.

-The Next Day-

It was finally the fourth day of the supposed training day with Lefiya and the Loki Familia. Well, the training surely was harsh, but I thought that it was worth it.

"Lefiya, I would like to have a few words with you." Riveria said.

"O-Okay." Lefiya replied. "Sorry if I couldn't come with you today, Alva."

"It's okay, Lefiya." I smiled. Well, to tell the truth, we didn't plan to go somewhere today. It's just somehow natural that I ended up spending my time with Lefiya after training.

"In that case, would you like to accompany me?" A deep but feminine voice startled both of us. Despite being only a few days inside Loki Familia's household, I instantly recognized whose voice it was. The only thing that I didn't understand is that, it's very unpractical for the sound's owner to actually ask me to accompany her to go somewhere.

"Miss Ais?"

"I wanted to go to the guild area to check some quests." The usually known as the Sword Princess replied nonchalantly.

"Well, in that case, maybe I could probably tag along with you then." I replied. Well, truth to be told, I also wanted to check for them, but without the intention of completing one. Instead, it would be a reference to put up a request for materials myself, at least that's how Goddess Hephaestus, Capt. Tsubaki and Welf had taught me. And thus, I tagged along with her towards the Guild Building.

* * *

-Meanwhile in the Guild Building-

-3rd Person's PoV-

A half-elven guild officer was walking in front of the Guild building. While there's nothing unusual on her hands, just the classic binder file that might be filled with a lot of paperwork she needed to finish, the same couldn't be said for her face since it looked pretty obvious that she was pondering about something.

"I...I shouldn't involve my personal feelings in my job, but I think it's okay once in a while, right. Apparently, for the sake of my advisee's safety, I really needed to ask about Bell's supporter."

And with that, she proceeded to enter the Building, but not before noticing two blondes in front of the Guild Quest board.

"Eh?"

"Hm?"

"Ah! Miss Eina!" One of the blondes greeted.

"G-Good Morning, Miss Dion, Miss Wallenstein." the guild officer greeted back.

"...Good Morning." The other blonde replied rather monotonously."

"Um...Miss Wallenstein, Thank you for saving the adventurer I'm in charge of." Eina showed her gratitude. But of course, Ais couldn't actually recall such things since she really had no idea what Eina was talking about. Alva, on the other hand, might have one or two guesses. Since Eina was in charge of her too, and was in a party with another of her advisees, then she had at least one guess on who Eina was referring to.

"I saved the adventurer you're in charge of?"

"Yes, I've been waiting to thank you." Eina smiled. "I heard you saved him at the last second from a raging minotaur on the Fifth floor."

"A minotaur..." Ais' mind quickly formed an answer to her curiosity since that moment was one of the unforgettable moments she had experienced, and as a part of Loki Familia, she knew she also took responsibility for what had happened involving that boy.

"Yes, his name was Bell Cranel." Eina replied. "And he's in the same party with Miss Dion as well."

"So Miss Ais had saved Mr. Cranel once?" Alva interjected. "In that case, I also needed to thank you for saving him."

However, instead of smile or such perplexed face, her face showed a worried one, which startled both half-breeds.

"U-Um...Miss Wallenstein?"

"Is he afraid of me?" she asked.

The question further startled both. Eina even quickly sweatdropped hearing the question. Well, that was a pretty unexpected question, even for either Eina's or Alva's standard.

"H-Huh?"

"N-Not at all! he's very grateful to you for saving him!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

Then Ais' face quickly turned into another smile.

"Good."

While Eina huffed in contentment that she had just resolved an awkward situation, the same couldn't be said for the other blonde. After all, Bell was her party member, but she had never knew this part of him, or the part that he was saved by Ais on that matter.

She made a mental note to try prying that information from him one day.

A few feet near group, a group of Soma Familia' adventurers were discussing about something. Because their surroundings were almost empty save for the group of females discussed before, their discussion could be heard by the group.

"So, the white-haired kid is about to get set up for a fall by Arde?"

"Yup. And you know what'll happen then. Don't screw it up, you guys."

"I know."

Unbeknownst by the adventurers, all three females that were having a conversation near the quest board overheard their discussion. The half-elf was the first to register the information.

"_I'm sure they were just saying the name "Arde"...D-Don't tell me...!_"

"Is something wrong?" Ais asked the fidgeting Eina, knowing that something wrong was in her thoughts.

"Ms. Wallenstein, I'm aware that this is rude, but may I ask you a favor?"

"?"

"It's possible I'm overthinking things, but he may be involved in some trouble."

Alva's ears perked up at the sudden discussion, especially after retelling the fact that they had just discussed about Bell Cranel.

"I know it's not my place to ask, but can you help me?"

"...Very well."

"Miss Eina, are we talking about Mr. Cranel here?" Alva interjected again.

"Well, it might be just a hunch."

"Then, let me help too!"

"Huh?"

"I'm his party member so he's also my responsibility."

"Well, knowing you, I won't even try to stop you since both you and Bell are similar." Eina huffed. "Very well, may I count on both of you?"

Both adventurers nodded.

"After all, I haven't apologized to him yet." Ais suddenly stated.

"Huh?"

"I'll get going. Let's go, Alva."

"Yes. We'll be going, Miss Eina!"

The two blondes quickly ran towards the Dungeon while the half-elf just sighed and trembled, worrying about the condition of her advisees.

She knew that she can count on Ais and Alva, much likely the former since she was much more talented, but the latter might also be a factor since if there's someone who knew Bell's and the supporter's antics in the Dungeon, it would be her.

But she refused to let the two of them did all the job. As a guild officer, she had one way to help ensure Bell's safety.

And without hesitation, she made her way towards Babel, more specifically, Goddess Hephaestus' store.

-.-

-Meanwhile in the Dungeon-

"I can't believe it, we're progressing very quickly, Master Bell."

"You're right, can't believe we are now in Floor 9." Bell replied. "The monsters here are much faster and smarter than the ones upstairs."

"Muu...of course they are...else they won't pose a challenge." Lili remarked.

"I know right..."

"Speaking of which, Master Bell,"

"Hm?" Bell turned to see Lili offering him a kind of long knife which almost resembled a sword. One could tell that it was a knife but it certainly was far longer than the Hestia Knife Bell was holding.

"Knowing that they are now faster and smarter, shouldn't you use a better, longer weapon for your convenience?"

"Come to think of it." Bell thought for a moment. "You're right, a longer weapon should equal a larger attack range, thus giving me more space and time to attack. But, where should I put it?"

"Why not inside the vambrace?" Lili advised, pointing at Bell's green vambrace.

"Seems like a good idea."

"Now, let's proceed to Floor 10, Master Bell!"

"Right!"

Meanwhile, a few floors above

"Tempest!"

Gust of wind surrounded the sword-wielding blonde, increasing her speed to an extent as she rushed through the corridor of the Dungeon.

"Miss Ais, wait!"

Behind her was a spear-wielding blonde with semi-light armor, running like usual while slashing and piercing the monsters along the way, but with a speed much lower than the former blonde, and thus she was actually lagging behind. "Outta the way!"

The distance between both blondes kept enlarging before Ais had to stop at the staircase leading to the lower floors.

"We don't have much time, he could be in danger any moment."

"I'm sorry for being slow, okay? Not that I wanted to..."

Ais was silent for a moment, before suddenly a thought entered her.

"Alva, ready a jump stance and hold my hand."

"O-Okay..." Alva said as she held the Sword Princess' hand, which is conflicting between warm and cool at the same time, maybe it was affected by the wind magic she used...or was it?

"Hold tight."

"Eh, what do you-?" Alva didn't have the time to continue as Ais began to mutter.

"Tempest!"

All of a sudden, Ais jumped forward and moved quickly, pulling Alva with her as they...or actually just Ais...sprinted through the staircase and the floors below.

"Whoaaaaa-"

-.-

-Floor 10-

"Orcs! Watch out!" Bell said as he deflected a hit meant for Lili while trying to counterattack it. One orc was proven to be quite some challenge for the white-haired adventurer, and not helping was the fact that there were not less than ten orcs, and they were creeping onward towards him.

All of a sudden, he realized that a bow projectile was shot near him. As he looked back to the source, he noticed that the supporter that was beside him vanished and reappeared at the staircase leading back to the upper floors.

"I'm sorry, Master Bell."

And with that, she fled, taking the dungeon drops and some of Bell's equipments with her. Bell watched as her figure had gotten further and further, while at the same time, the orcs were creeping towards him.

"Lili...why?"

Dejectedly, he raised his knife and faced the orcs, albeit with the uncertainty if he could ever find a way out to follow her, or to meet his end in this floor.

-Minutes Later-

If one had to say that Bell had done a great job, one could comment that he did, but not towards the extent of one could hope.

Or at least, it wasn't as he had hoped.

Sure, he did manage to kill around six to seven orcs, that was a feat for a Level 1 adventurer like him. However, the fact that there are still more orcs approaching, including some orc reinforcements coming his way, he knew he hadn't done enough.

"Darn it."

He expected himself to meet his end that moment.

What he didn't expect, was that the orcs' attention were suddenly directed towards another part, as a group of orcs were suddenly sent flying.

"Now there's a chance." He thought as he made his quick charge towards the tunnel leading upstairs, hoping to find the supporter that had actually betrayed him.

Well, no one knew where she would be...

...at least...not with Bell's luck, as he suddenly found Lili sprawled on the ground, in the worst condition one could ever think: Motionlessly sprawled on the ground, without any signs of struggling from the said supporter, and with killer ants all around her body.

If one adventurer other than Bell could think of what had happened before this, he would know what his reaction would be, if he was on Bell's feet.

"Well, instant karma is real, I guess?"

That would be very reasonable, unless we're talking about the ever-different Bell Cranel of Hestia Familia.

He knew his supporter had betrayed him, leaving him to die with the orcs and taking his belongings. However, other than that fact, he knew much better than a simple betrayal.

He knew what's behind that sad face she's always showing.

And he'll do whatever he can to erase that horrible face of hers, to see her smile again.

And thus, he knew what he had to do.

"FIREBOLT!"

-.-

Back at the 10th Floor, the two blondes managed to clear the waves of Orc approaching them, As the orcs fell one after another, more orcs were approaching.

Only to be cut down swiftly by the Sword Princess, leaving the Half-Angel Blonde's mouth gaping wide.

"Well, I knew that Sword Princess Ais is very talented, but to see her skill this close..."

Stopping for a while, Ais then turned towards the other blonde.

"Go..."

"Eh?"

"Go and follow him." Ais said as she pointed towards the staircase leading to the upper floors, but from a different path they're taking.

"But what about you?"

"Just go, I'll take care of this."

"But...oh well..." Alva sighed as she left Ais' side and did her best to run quickly towards the staircase.

-.-

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"WHY ARE YOU SAVING ME?" Lili's outburst could be heard as Bell looked at her with concern. "I betrayed you and you knew that! I played trick on the shares of our dungeon earnings, sometimes as far as 50-25-25 or even 60-20-20, and I tricked you many times, even with that weak weapon I offered you, I tried to lead you to be trapped and die!"

"Lili..."

"Not only that! You know why I chose this day? It's because I know Mistress Alva is not with us, because I know she knows that I'm going to betray you. That's why I kept being cold towards her, and tried to find a way to remove her for good. The chance was there when she wouldn't come with us the past four days, and I used that to trap you. I am evil, Master Bell. I didn't deserve to be helped by you! So why are you helping me?"

"Well, because you're a girl?"

Lili was furious. "What kind of nonsense is that! Why are you saving every girl just because they are a girl? You're a pervert, lecherous man, the enemy of all womankind!"

"Then, that's because you're you." Bell said as he caressed Lili's scarred face. "I don't need any other reasons apart from that. I'm going to help you, to carry your burden, to keep you happy, all because you're you, Lili."

"M-Master Bell..."

She quickly threw herself at Bell's embrace, crying all the way.

"I'm Sorry! I'm so Sorry!"

The cries continued for a while. From a few yards behind them, a blonde couldn't help but to smile at the commotion.

Apparently when Lili was tired, she noticed that someone else that she, too, had owed an apology to standing behind Bell.

"Mistress Alva?"

Bell turned at the pallum's recognition to see the familiar blonde as well.

"Looks like everything worked well for you two?"

"H-How long have you been there, Ms. Alva?" Bell asked.

"A few moments before your moment." Alva said, causing Bell to blush a bit. She walked nearer and crouched so that she could be face-level with Lili. "Are you alright, Lili?"

"M-Mistress Alva...I..."

"Now, save your energy for later." Alva said before giving her a potion to her, one she bought from Diancecht Familia and not the Putetto-based ones she had made, letting the pallum recover.

"Mistress Alva, why are you so nice to me? I think you had heard the truth that I wanted you to begone so that I can trap Master Bell."

"While I had the right to be angry," Alva said in a deep tone. "In the end, Mr. Cranel wasn't that injured and he was saving you instead. I had no reason to scold you now and ruin the moment."

"I-I'm sorry, Mistress Alva."

Alva just smiled before turning to Bell. "I think we should meet Miss Eina after this. She had been worried about you. Let's go back, Mr. Cranel, Lili."

"R-Right. Come on, Lili."

"O-Okay."

And thus the group made their way towards the surface, towards the Guild Building. While Bell apologized that he had lost the green vambrace given by Eina, she kept telling him that it was fine as long as he was safe. The next day, after enough discussion, Bell and Alva decided that they should recruit Lili as their supporter again, despite the betrayal.

And as Lili had wanted too, Lili was taken to Bell's care as the latter decided to explain everything to his Goddess, while Alva decided to go home as usual after the dungeon delving, effectively ending the day for the half-angel.

At least that's what she wanted, as on her way back, suddenly something emerged from behind, with the intention to attack her...

**-Stop it here...it's been more than two months and I had work to do. Not only that, I felt like the story's getting worse, but I'll try my best. I saw that this story didn't get too much reviews, maybe because not many are interested...probably because it was OC-centric and not Bell-centric.**

**Judging from that, I decided that, as a companion to that fic, I made another story that is Bell-centric, but it was more onto a series of oneshots featuring Bell and many of pairings including him, and what's more, it was a Family fic, which focused on Bell as a husband or a father. You can find it in Wattpad under the title: "Is it wrong to have a lovely family in the city of Dungeons.". However if you wish to read it in Fanfiction, you can put it in the review here or send me a PM, I'll really consider it when that book reaches at least 4 oneshots (right now only 2 so far, featuring Bell/Ryuu and Bell/Lefiya).**

**Please R&R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are Appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!**

**Kage**


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